Several people required medical attention after being showered with hot ash from the firework display at St George’s Square during New Year’s Eve celebrations last night.

Kathryn Baldacchino told the Times of Malta she was standing next to the wall of the Grandmasters Palace when the fireworks went off at midnight. 

“We looked up at the fireworks and I felt a hot speck entering my eye. When I put my head down, I felt more ash pouring onto my head,” she said.

Ms Baldacchino sought help from an ambulance on site, where she was told that a number of other people had required assistance for similar problems. A small object was removed from her eye, and the pain subsided after a few hours.

“The area wasn’t cordoned off and there were no warnings of any kind,” said Steve Hili, Ms Baldacchino’s husband. “People were panicking with the stuff that got in their eyes. Had a few people started pushing there could easily have been a stampede.”

Yesterday’s celebration, organised by the V18 Foundation, was attended by more than 70,000 people, according to organisers, with people spilling out into the streets around the square.