An inquiry into the death of a Latvian construction worker who was crushed while working on Mellieħa’s Seabank Hotel last March, has yet to be concluded, The Sunday Times has learnt.

This week marks six months since the death of 27-year-old Maksims Artamonovs.

Attorney General Peter Grech told The Sunday Times that the inquiring magistrate Carol Peralta – who had already been questioned about the inquiry’s delay two months ago – was still awaiting the submission of reports by some experts.

“The magistrate informed the Office of the Attorney General that he would soon be concluding the inquiry,” Dr Grech added.

The case was originally tasked to then Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani, but was transferred to Dr Peralta when she was sworn in as a judge in May.

According to article 550A of the Criminal Code, after 60 days from the start of an inquiry the magistrate must produce a report explaining why it had not yet been concluded.

The Attorney General did not say whether Dr Peralta provided this report or any follow-ups. Mr Artamonovs was one of hundreds of construction workers involved in the renovation of the Seabank Hotel when an unfinished structure earmarked for a nightclub collapsed with him underneath. The search for his body took almost 24 hours. Mr Artamonovs was his family’s sole breadwinner.