The parents of a 10-year-old boy who died after being run over while crossing St Andrew’s Road, in Pembroke on Saturday only learnt about the accident about three hours later.

The accident happened at about 3.30pm when the boy, of Libyan origin, was crossing from the side of Pembroke to the Swieqi side. He was hit by a car driven by a 38-year-old Turkish man, resident in St Paul’s Bay.

The boy was taken to Mater Dei Hospital where he died of his injuries some time later.

Sources said that boy had just left his house in Pembroke and was crossing the road to buy something from a shop on the other side. He was then meant to go somewhere else – it is not clear where – so his parents were not expecting him back home immediately.

As a result they only learnt that their son had been knocked down by a car at about 6pm even because the police had difficulty identifying the victim because he did not have any identification on him.

In fact, officers asked staff members in nearby shops and establishments to tell anyone who passed by looking for a boy to go to the St Julian’s police station, sources said.