A man and woman escaped with slight injuries when the scaffolding they were walking under collapsed at The Strand in Gzira yesterday afternoon.

The woman is a 32-year-old from Indonesia, living in Msida. The police do not know the man's identity because he only injured his hand and left the hospital before they arrived, sources said.

The scaffolding was put up to support a derelict building, situated just opposite the bridge leading to Manoel Island and to allow pedestrians to walk safely on the pavement.

How it collapsed remains unclear.

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority is investigating.

No one was injured on Thursday when lightning struck a penthouse along the Pietà seafront. The lightning strike dislodged rubble, which, in turn, knocked down a metal balcony and damaged a stairway leading to a block of apartments and two cars parked in the vicinity.