An elderly woman was in a critical condition yesterday after being trapped by the flames of a raging fire in Valletta.

The fire broke out at around 6am in a small crafts shop on the corner of Old Bakery and St Lucia streets, police on the scene told The Sunday Times of Malta.

Flames spread from the shop, engulfing the overlying apartments and trapping the woman in her apartment.

Firefighters located the 77-year-old, who had crawled under her bed in a desperate attempt to escape the flames.

She was taken to Mater Dei Hospital and put in the Intensive Treatment Unit where she was being treated for severe smoke inhalation.

Antoine Grech, the firefighter who found the woman, said he suspected she was still in the apartment when he saw her chairlift at the top of the landing.

The stairwell collapsed under the weight of the water being sprayed from the firefighters’ hose.

“At that point I saw another room. Myself and my partner pushed our way in and made out a figure through the smoke. We dragged her out and carried her to safety,” he said.

She was lying down on the floor near her bed and we pulled her by dragging the carpet she was lying on

“She was lying down on the floor near her bed and we pulled her by dragging the carpet she was lying on. When we carried her out she was trembling,” he added.

It is not known what caused the fire but civil protection officers believed it may have been sparked by a short circuit in the crammed shop.

Police sources said the fire eventually spread to the rear yard whipped up by strong winds.

“I was inside the building just after the fire was reported early in the morning.

“It was smoking but it wasn’t out of control. Then, suddenly, it spread and we had to get out fast,” one police source said.

The fire ravaged the communal stairwell as firefighters tried to contain the blaze.

The police officer explained that the first floor tenant, a 66-year-old woman, escaped while the fire was still under control.

Moments later, the fire had destroyed most of the lower apartment, which partially caved in, along with most of the stairwell.

The fire was extinguished after more than an hour of the response team’s efforts.

It was later partially reignited on the second floor apartment where it spread from the kitchen to the neighbouring living room. It was extinguished after around 40 minutes.

A magisterial inquiry into what caused the initial fire is under way.