A man who was lost at sea in 1998 has been officially declared dead following a request to this effect filed by his widow and children before the Civil Court.

Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti heard that in 1998 Monica Fenech was informed by her father-in-law that her husband, Mario Fenech, had gone to sea and had not returned. Mr and Mrs Fenech had three children, while Mr Fenech also had a daughter from another relationship.

On the following day, Mrs Fenech learned that a vessel had sunk between Malta and Sicily and that the two persons on board, Mario Fenech and Fathi Ben Habib had not been rescued.

An official of the local Armed Forces had called Mrs Fenech and told her that her husband's vessel had been spotted under water. The body of Fathi Ben Habib had been recovered by the Italian Navy but in the course of the salvage operation, Mr Fenech's body had fallen into the sea and was never recovered.

In its judgment, the court pointed out that it had to be satisfied that a missing person could be presumed dead after the lapse of 10 years from when he had last been seen.

There was no doubt, said that court, that Mr Fenech was no longer alive. The newspaper reports at the time gave rise to a logical and reasonable presumption that he had died in an accident between Malta and Sicily.

Mr Justice Chetcuti declared that he was not concerned as to what Mr Fenech had been doing when he died.

The court, therefore, upheld Mrs Fenech's request and declared that she, and the four children were Mr Fenech's heirs and that he was to be deemed dead.