(Updated 3.20 p.m.)

A veritable river of sewage flowed down Naxxar hill to Lija this afternoon after an overflow from a manhole at Triq id-Dejqa, eyewitnesses said.

The incident happened at about 1.30 p.m. and sewage was still coming out at 2.15 p.m. Sewage Department employees were on the scene to rectify matters.

“It was sickening, it was ankle deep in the area near where the overflow started,” said Simon Alden, a nearby resident.

A spokesman for the Water Services Corporation told timesofmalta.com that workers had been carrying out maintenance. When they lifted a manhole, sewage started coming out because the gallery was blocked by debris which included stones and a lot of straw.

The spokesman said the flow had now been controlled and the flow was being deviated. While apologising for the inconvenience, the spokesman urged all to have civic responsibility. The WSC will also be cleaning the streets affected.

Mynews@timesofmalta.com