The President’s office will not comment in the aftermath of a motor show accident that left many asking whether appropriate safety measures were in place.

Four people, including a six-year-old girl, remained in intensive care yesterday evening after Sunday’s accident when a supercar driver crashed his Porsche into the crowd, injuring 28 people.

Although the charity event Paqpaqli għall-Istrina is fronted by popular TV personality Tonio Darmanin, according to the official Facebook page it is organised by the Office of the President.

But none of the organisers yesterday would comment on the safety aspect, with a spokeswoman for the Office of the President saying it was “inappropriate” pending the outcome of the magisterial inquiry.

“As you are aware a magisterial inquiry is under way and thus at this stage, it would be inappropriate for the Office of the President to make any further comments in order to allow the magisterial inquiry to take its course,” the spokeswoman said in reply to a series of questions (see box on page 4), including whether a risk assessment of safety and security was carried out.

Attempts to contact Mr Darmanin since Sunday have proved futile and in an SMS to this newspaper he reiterated his “no comment” line.

Former professional Formula 3 driver, Maltese-Australian Damien Digby, told the Times of Malta the plastic crash barriers used at the side of the runway would act merely as “projectiles” (see story above).

While refraining from talking about the accident, Reuben Hili from the Island Cars Club said his club always made use of concrete barriers specifically designed for motorsport at its regular hill-climb events.

On Sunday spectators stood behind police crowd control barriers and plastic crash barriers just metres away from where Briton Paul Bailey was racing his Porsche 918 Spyder up and down the runway. The plastic barriers were not filled with water.

Mr Bailey would not comment yesterday when approached by this newspaper at hospital, where he is recovering from injuries sustained in the crash.

Meanwhile, Malta International Airport distanced itself from the organisation of Paqpaqli għall-Istrina when asked about its responsibility in the matter.

A spokeswoman said MIA was approached by the organizers to make an area available for this national event and the company obliged as it had done in the past.

“In fact, on October 4, between 9am and 5pm, the land allocated to the event was declared a public area by the relevant authority. MIA’s responsibility was to ensure that the activities taking place during the event did not impinge on aviation safety and security or the airport’s operations.”

The spokeswoman said MIA was “deeply saddened” by the incident.

The police told this newspaper they were not involved in the issuing of permits and risk assessments for Sunday’s motor event. “The police were in charge of the traffic management, keeping the peace and public order,” a spokeswoman said.

In Parliament last night Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said there were “several lessons” to be drawn from this accident. He did not elaborate.

Unanswered questions to the President

A tearful President Marie-Louise Colerio Preca, whose office was the event organiser, speaking to the media on Sunday evening. Photo: Steve Zammit Lupi

1. Do you confirm as is stated in the official Paqpaqli għall-Istrina Facebook page that the event was organised by the Office of the President?

2. Were all necessary permits issued in the name of the Office of the President?

3. The President yesterday said the event was insured. Which is the insurance company and did the policy cover third party damages/injuries in the event of an accident like Sunday’s?

4. Did the Office of the President carry out a risk assessment on safety and security measures for the event?

5. Who was responsible for carrying out this risk assessment?

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com