Despite the public outcry over the LNG storage vessel off Marsaxlokk, the government is stubbornly refusing to budge. This may lead one to believe that yet another pre-election deal may have been undertaken.

Safety must be at a premium and one can only surmise what could happen in the event of an unforeseen gas escape.

This could be caused by a number of factors, such as very strong winds destabilising the vessel and also blowing any gas escapes around the island; or a possible earth tremor; or carelessness, as was witnessed recently in a picture in Times of Malta featuring employees refilling gas cylinders.

Last week, in New York, a cylinder blew up causing eight fatalities and injuring 60. About 20 years ago, a gas cylinder exploded and destroyed a tenement building in Glasgow.

An accident aboard a vessel so close to Marsaxlokk would lead to an unprecedented disaster. I would suggest that the residents in this area take a united stand and with great haste. Similar to the flooding casualties in southern England, houses in regions where there is considered to be a threat soon lose their value.