The Latvian construction worker who died last Tuesday when a structure collapsed at the Seabank hotel was his family’s sole breadwinner.
No one can fix what happened but we offered all the support we could
Maksims Artamonovs, 27, who came to Malta around three years ago, was described by his employer as “quiet, reserved and hardworking”.
His body is being flown to Latvia where his funeral will be held, after his sister came to Malta to make arrangements. Mr Artamonovs used to financially support his mother, sister and her young daughter, all of whom reside in Latvia.
Seabank Group CEO Arthur Gauci told The Sunday Times the hotel management held a very emotional meeting with the victim’s sister and offered her all the support she needed.
“No one can fix what happened. But we offered them all the support we could. We also offered to pay all their expenses to be able to come and work in Malta and offered his sister a job if she wants, since she is unemployed,” Mr Gauci said.
“We committed ourselves to doing everything we could do to alleviate this very unfortunate situation,” he said of his meeting with Mr Artamonovs’ sister, who chose not to speak to the press.
Etienne Bartolo, the general manager of B&B Holdings and Investments Ltd, which employed Mr Artamonovs, said the company was still coming to terms with what happened. Mr Artamonovs’ closest colleagues, particularly his co-nationals, were still in shock, he said.
“But life must go on, there’s nothing we can do now,” he said.
He described Mr Artamonovs as a no-nonsense guy who was quiet, reserved and focused on his work.
Meanwhile, although the site of the collapse has remained closed and under investigation, the rest of the complex has been given clearance to reopen for works, following inspections.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority said other structures on the site had been impacted by the collapse of the nightclub and the car park underneath it.
However, spokesman Mark Gauci told The Sunday Times yesterday that the necessary “remedial works” had been carried out and the OHSA was satisfied with the site’s safety. The area which collapsed remains cordoned off as investigations are under way.
He was found by sniffer dogs buried under the rubble
Mr Artamonovs was found on Wednesday morning after an 18-hour search guided by sniffer dogs after he was buried beneath a mound of rubble. He was dismantling scaffolding in the newly-built car park underneath a wooden dome-like structure, which was to become a nightclub. A colleague left his side minutes earlier, avoiding possible death.
Investigators have still not given any indication what sparked the collapse.
If the incident happened some time later, many of the 400 workers on the site would have been taking their lunch break under the shelter of the nightclub’s gazebo – the site of the collapse.