The Barracuda restaurant is carrying out an internal inquiry to establish what caused the collapse of a balcony in which eight French tourists were injured, a company spokesman told the Times of Malta.

The accident happened on Monday night as patrons were having dinner at the popular restaurant situated in a restored 18th-century villa by the water’s edge at Balluta Bay.

“The company is carrying out an internal probe independent of the magisterial inquiry that is under way. We want to know what happened,” the spokesman said, adding that the company had no further comment.

Seven French tourists were discharged from Mater Dei Hospital on Tuesday after receiving treatment for slight injuries.

A Frenchwoman was admitted to hospital in critical condition and had surgery. Her condition improved. She is now out of danger and reported to be doing fine, though she is still in hospital. The woman sustained a number of fractures, including of the pelvis.

The balcony was a platform supported by two stone columns with their bases on the rocks below. The columns collapsed and the platform fell on to another balcony below belonging to the Piccolo Padre restaurant.

An internal probe independent of the magisterial inquiry

Both family-run restaurants belong to the same company and occupy different levels of the same converted building. Barracuda has been a fixture on the Maltese fine dining scene for the past 36 years. Piccolo Padre, on the other hand, is a popular trattoria.

Luckily, there were not many people dining at the restaurant underneath. On a busy night, the Piccolo Padre terrace is packed with diners.

Sources said the injured people, who were holidaying here, were considering legal action.

This is the third major accident in seven months involving groups of people injured at places of entertainment or public events.

The first incident happened at the Paqpaqli għall-Istrina car event in aid of the Community Chest Fund at Malta International Airport last October, when a supercar careened into the bystanders, injuring 26.

The magisterial inquiry has been completed, but there have been no arraignments so far.

A month later, 74 young people were injured when the glass bannister of a nightclub in Paceville gave way as the overcrowded club was being evacuated. Last January, the police issued charges against the club owners.

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