Two people died and 50 people were injured when a sightseeing bus hit a low-branch on the Żurrieq road. One of the passengers spoke about the ordeal.

In the end, it all came down to suntan lotion. Anna and her family together with friends had been sitting on the upper deck of the sightseeing bus all day and the breeze meant they were not aware how sunburnt they were getting.

They loved the open-top bus experience and had good memories from previous trips, so when the Romanian group came to Malta on April 5, they signed up for the Monday tour, thinking it would be a great way to see as much as they could of the new destination.

Anna's 11-year-old daughter was enthralled by the adventure and insisted they should all stay on the upper deck of the bus, sitting on the left-hand side to catch the best view over the countryside. But it was a long day and they were happy to rest at Ħaġar Qim for an hour before the final leg of the trip home.  

Read: Two dead, six critical, 44 others treated, as tourist bus hits tree in Żurrieq

As they waited, they spotted a British family with three children who had been on the same trip earlier in the day. There was also another British family there, with two children, but no one else they recognised from the various legs of the trip.

When the bus approached, her daughter immediately headed off for the upper deck but Anna's husband and the other family had had enough of the sun. Anna was torn: should she stay downstairs with the rest of them or stay upstairs with her daughter?

"At the last moment, I decided to not go upstairs but with the rest all together downstairs. I can't stop thinking that this decision maybe changed our life... that was our luck!"

The double decker crash killed two tourists and injured 50.

The places that Anna and her family had been using that day were instead taken by the others: a Belgian couple and a Spanish lady, and the two British families.

Within minutes of leaving the temples, tragedy struck.

"We heard a strong noise coming from something hitting the bus. We did not understand exactly what happened until we heard screaming coming from upstairs and at that moment the bus driver stopped the bus. We saw a fire extinguisher crashing down from upstairs after the impact. 

"The driver was so confused. He basically wanted to go upstairs to see what happened but people downstairs first insisted that he opened the bus doors. He did that and we all got out from the bus. We don't remember exactly what the bus driver did afterwards.   

"From the outside, we could see a person with white hair (now I realised it was the Belgian gentlemen) with injuries to his head. He was hanging over the bus handrail and I could see a lot of blood splattered on the road. His camera was also hanging down. It looked like he could have been taking photos just before the impact."   

The father of the British family with three children had been injured, and the other family's two children are now fighting for their life, she said with a shudder.

Anna's husband pushed the group away from the scene to avoid witnessing the shocking scenes.

"Our friend stopped a car and asked the driver to call an ambulance. It took approximately 10 minutes until firemen, police and ambulances started to arrive."

He was hanging over the bus handrail and I could see a lot of blood splattered on the road

The next few hours were a whirl. She hardly remembered any details – or preferred not to, the memories still too painful. She says she has her own ideas what caused the accident but would not comment. adding "I am not an expert". 

The emergency doctors on the scene did a preliminary check to ensure they were not injured and they were whisked off to the hospital to be assessed more fully. They also needed to give statements to the police. But surrounded by all the heartbreaking scenes, they wanted to get away as soon as they could – aware they had an early plane to catch.

"We did not ask for any counselling at that time," she admitted. But once they were safe, the full horror of what had happened hit them and the children could not stop shaking, emotionally distraught for two days.

Now back in Romania, they scour the local newspapers every day for news of the victims. She said she got emotional when she thought of the two young children she had seen playing in the Ħagar Qim car park who were critically injured.

"We thank God for our luck and pray for the victims and for those who still fight for their lives. We still can't get over it since we realise we could have been [among the] dead or injured. Most of the people prefer to sit upstairs during such trips."

The interviewee requested that her identity and that of her family remained anonymous