Gozo Channel has launched an internal enquiry after at least two vehicles were damaged on the ferry ramp as it jerked backwards while they were disembarking in Mġarr on Friday night.

No one was injured in the incident on the MV Malita, though a witness said two people appeared to suffer shock.

The company apologised for the “unfortunate incident”, which occurred at around 10.45 p.m.

In a statement yesterday, Gozo Channel confirmed a mooring rope had snapped, causing the ferry to move backwards.

It said crew members immediately acted to ensure passenger safety, but “a number” of cars got stuck on the ramp. Gozo Channel has assumed full responsibility for damage to the vehicles involved, a spokesman told The Sunday Times.

One passenger waiting to board said the first few cars had already been driven off the ferry when noises of clanging metal and screams were heard.

“We saw two cars that had been jacked up by the final section of the ramp, which had folded back up to a vertical position. There was quite a lot of panic as the passengers had to be pulled out from the vehicles,” the eyewitness said.

The crew asked passengers to stay away while the final section of the ramp was lowered to the normal position, scraping the underside of the two cars before they fell back to a horizontal position.

The ship was then moved a metre or so forward, and crew on the starboard side secured the mooring ropes at the front. One of the two cars was driven off the ship while the other had to be pushed.

A third car sustained minor damage to its bonnet according to the witness, adding that two people – one from each of the worst hit cars – appeared to be suffering from “shock”.

A policeman eventually arrived but he tried to downplay the seriousness of the incident, according to the witness.

Eventually, the crew started embarkation procedures for the 11 p.m. trip to Ċirkewwa on the same ferry, which left at least 10 minutes late.

At that point, one of the people who had suffered shock had been picked up by family members, but the other was still at the scene.

Another witness complained that Ċirkewwa-bound passengers were asked to board the same ferry, which she felt should have been left in place for an investigation.

“This is not behaviour one should accept in a civilised country which looks after its citizens and visitors,” she said.

The MV Malita was involved in another incident on June 13 when the ramp was allegedly raised while commuters were still standing on it.

Gozo Channel blamed passengers for that incident, saying some had attempted to stop the ferry from departing by getting on the ramp as it was being raised, apparently to delay the trip so other passengers could board.