Two years have passed since a 17-year-old Russian student died with a fractured skull after falling 20 metres into a valley, but the area on the outskirts of Pembroke remains unfenced.

Plans for a railing are in the pipeline but in the meantime nothing has been done and the area remains unsafe. If someone fell off the pavement they could roll down the slope, past a narrow pathway, and into the rocky valley adjacent to Villa Rosa.

This was how English language student Polina Rahman died on July 17, 2012.

Her body was found on July 24 – a week after she was reported missing – by foreigners who noticed a foul smell coming from an area in the valley. An autopsy revealed she died from a fractured skull sustained in a fall.

Police sources had said they believed she had been walking along Prof. W. Ganado Street when she tripped and fell to her death.

There is nothing between the pavement of this street and a steep slope that leads to a pathway located lower down towards the valley. Beyond the pathway, which is unlit at night, lies a sheer drop.

The night she fell Ms Rahman – who had arrived in Malta on July 15 – had attended the welcome party for her school, Education First (EF), at Cabanas Club in Paceville. She was last seen on July 17 at 4am in Paceville.

The fact she was unfamiliar with Malta and had been out late drinking could explain why she ended up so far away from her residence in San Ġwann where she was staying with a host family.

Residents of the area had said they would like to see some form of fencing put up in Prof. W. Ganado Street. But two years later the site remains dangerously unfenced.

Pembroke mayor Dean Hili said the area in question did not fall under his council’s responsibility. However, it has asked Transport Malta to do something about it. A solution had to be found that blocked off the drop but respected the valley, he added.

However, St Julian’s mayor Peter Bonello insisted the area fell under the responsibility of the Pembroke council.

When contacted, a Transport Malta spokeswoman said the safety requirements of the road had been assessed and a number of measures would be implemented to improve the safety of all road users, including pedestrians.

There were plans to install a 20-metre railing behind the bus stop, marked as Portanier, located where the accident occurred.

The bus stop would also be shifted to a safer area a few metres away, where it would be bound by an existing boundary wall.