The President’s office will not comment in the aftermath of the motor show accident that left many asking whether appropriate safety measures were in place. 

Although the charity event Paqpaqli għall-Istrina is fronted by popular TV personality Tonio Darmanin, according to the official Facebook page it is organised by the Office of the President.

But when questioned on the safety aspects of the event, a spokeswoman for the Office of the President saying it was “inappropriate” pending the outcome of the magisterial inquiry.

“As you are aware a magisterial inquiry is under way and thus at this stage, it would be inappropriate for the Office of the President to make any further comments in order to allow the magisterial inquiry to take its course,” the spokeswoman said. 

While refraining from talking about the accident, Reuben Hili from the Island Cars Club said his club always made use of concrete barriers specifically designed for motorsport at its regular hill-climb events.

On Sunday spectators stood behind police crowd control barriers and plastic crash barriers just metres away from where Briton Paul Bailey was racing his Porsche 918 Spyder up and down the runway. The plastic barriers were not filled with water. 

Meanwhile, Malta International Airport distanced itself from the organisation of Paqpaqli għall-Istrina when asked about its responsibility in the matter.

A spokeswoman said MIA was approached by the organizers to make an area available for this national event and the company obliged as it had done in the past.

The police told this newspaper they were not involved in the issuing of permits and risk assessments for Sunday’s motor event. “The police were in charge of the traffic management, keeping the peace and public order,” a spokeswoman said.

In Parliament last night Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said there were “several lessons” to be drawn from this accident. He did not elaborate. 

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