The pedestrian bridge linking Paceville’s Bay Street to St Winston Street can be a tricky structure for high-sided vehicles, which often experience difficulty when passing beneath it, according to nearby retailers and shopkeepers.
Times of Malta spoke to a number of vendors in the immediate vicinity following Sunday’s incident, which left a British tourist seriously injured after he stood up just as the open-top double-decker bus he was travelling on drove beneath the bridge.
“There have been at least three incidents in the past five years,” retailer Mike Grech said.
“They were all tourists. I’ve seen a number of University graduates bus-cading on double-deckers and they’ve never been hurt. Lately, drivers have taken to stopping their double-decker bus just before passing under the bridge to inform their passengers to remain seated.”
I sometimes see youngsters brushing their hands against the bridge for fun but I’ve never witnessed such an incident
He added that while the bridge was a convenient structure, a number of trucks and lorries that drove into St Julian’s to unload beverages and other goods have found themselves in a sticky spot after getting stuck underneath it.
There was a sign affixed to the bridge displaying height restrictions for vehicles about to drive below it.
“However, it’s rather small and inconspicuous,” Mr Grech noted.
Caterer Raja Zubbair agreed with the points raised by Mr Grech, adding that double-deckers just about made it through under the bridge.
“It’s very dangerous. Normally, the bus drivers would stop and warn their passengers to remain seated, but last Sunday the bus driver just sped past.”
Salesman Julien Iwueke said there was a lot of commotion.
“We didn’t realise something was wrong until the bus stopped at St George’s Bay and three police cars drove past.
“People said there was a lot of blood inside the bus. Traffic was chock-a-block for some 30 minutes.
“The tourist had to be lowered down with a fire engine.”
However, a vendor at a nearby pizzeria said it was the first time he had heard of such an incident at the Bay Street bridge.
“I sometimes see youngsters brushing their hands against the bridge for fun but I’ve never witnessed such an incident,” he said.
“Who knows what happened? Was the tourist perhaps facing the other way round when the incident happened?”
When contacted, City Sightseeing Malta director Kenneth Vella, which owned the bus the tourist was on, said the company will be sending out a statement shortly.
The terms and conditions listed in the City Sightseeing Malta brochures distributed to tourists clearly states “patrons of the service are requested to remain seated at all times while the open top double-decker bus is in motion”.