A playground at the Mqabba primary school sustained extensive structural damage after a 12-storey quarry side that ran alongside the school's perimeter collapsed.

Nobody was injured but it could have been a different story had the incident not happened last Sunday, when there were no workers in the quarry and the school was closed.

Residents who live nearby said they first thought the loud crashing noise, coupled with a cloud of dust, was the result of a fireworks factory accident. Others believed it was an earthquake.

The crumbling rock face pulled down the dividing wall between the school and the quarry, which is known as Ta' Puzzu. A small well used by school staff to water the trees and plants in the yard and a larger disused reservoir nearby were destroyed.

The school yard, which includes a five-a-side artificial turf pitch, stands just a couple of metres from what is now a sheer drop.

Deep furrows are still visible in the soil on the school premises, raising fears about the stability of the rock beneath.

A spokesman for the Education Ministry said the playground was not being used and all doors leading to it had been shut since Monday. A wire fence barring access to the playground was erected.

"The experts who visited the school have not informed the authorities that there is any other danger. As a precaution, the school closed up a large playground that leads to the wall that collapsed," the spokesman said, when asked whether the rest of the school was safe for students and staff members.

The school head was informed by the police about the incident on Sunday and visited the site immediately. She was still visibly shaken by the incident yesterday.

Officials from St Benedict's College and the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools, including an architect, visited the school on Monday, the spokesman said.

However, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority was only informed yesterday morning about the problem by a private individual, according to chief executive officer Mark Gauci.

Health and safety officials inspected the damage and the quarry operator was ordered not to use that part of the quarry where the incident occurred.

When The Times went on site at about 10 a.m. yesterday, construction trucks were being loaded towards the centre of the quarry, just metres away from the debris.

Dr Gauci said the OHSA was in the process of drawing up an assessment report, which would also be passed on to the education authorities.

"It is still early in the day to determine what led to the rock face collapse," he said when asked whether it could have been caused by operations in the quarry.

A geological survey would have to be undertaken to determine the stability of the rock and decide what action was needed, he added.

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