A young nursing student from Zebbug died tragically yesterday morning when she lost control of her car as she was driving through Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street, in Msida, and plunged two storeys to a slip road off Valley Road.

The accident took place at about 8.45 a.m. when Alexia Maria Baldacchino, who only just turned 21, lost control of her red Citroen AX as she was driving towards Marsa. She is believed to have hit the crash barrier and then a tree before her car plunged two storeys to the slip road below.

The car landed on its roof, making it even more difficult for rescuers to help Ms Baldacchino.

An off-duty nurse who was passing by when the accident occurred, stopped to assist Ms Baldacchino but the car had been flattened and he could barely see her through the wreckage. The first people to arrive on the scene could still hear music inside the car.

Members of the Civil Protection Department were called on site to free the woman from the wreckage.

Ms Baldacchino was certified dead by medical personnel who arrived in an ambulance shortly after the accident.

The slip road off Valley Road was closed to traffic for a few hours until the police removed the car.

Parts of the car, including the back door, a pair of shoes and a soft toy, were among the items the police found on Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street. Other parts, including one of the car's seats, were found several metres away from the car.

Inside the car, investigators found Ms Baldacchino's personal items including a bag of clothes, a hairdryer, a hair straightener, deodorant and other belongings.

Duty Magistrate Silvio Meli was informed about the case. He appointed a number of court experts to assist him in an inquiry he has opened into the fatality.

Police Inspector Stephen Gatt is heading investigations.