There were emotional scenes this afternoon in the Chapel of Mater Dei Hospital as a service was held in memory of Ashih Tekleab Haile, the young Eritrean who died last week after he rescued a Frenchman who was about to drown in Paradise Bay.
The Chapel was filled by friends of Ashih who heard Mgr Philip Calleja, director of the Emigrants' Commission, recall how the refugee was liked by all those who came to know him.
Such was the man, he said, that the owner of Paradise Bay Hotel, where he worked, had even offered to bury him in his own family grave.
After the service, those present walked to the hospital morgue for a final farewell, with friends trying their best to calm Ashih's young widow as she was overcome by grief.
The body was later taken to the airport to be flown back to Eritrea.
32-year-old Ashih arrived in Malta in October 2009 and drowned at Paradise Bay last Wednesday.
He was employed as a beach boy at the hotel. The hotel also employs his 24-year-old wife, who works in housekeeping.
Hotel staff set up a fund to help the family. The government has recommended Ashih for the national medal for bravery.