The police on Wednesday spoke to the driver of the tourist bus that was involved in a fatal accident on Monday, sources said.

Before being questioned, the driver was subjected to a psychological examination by police to ensure he was in a sound state of mind.

“After going through that experience, the police wanted to ensure he was in the right state of mind before being asked for details about what had happened. Anyone would have been shaken after an experience like that,” the sources said.

They said the driver, 24, cooperated with the investigators though details of his account were not available.

It was unlikely that charges would be pressed against anybody any time soon, also because the police would probably prefer to await the outcome of the ongoing magisterial inquiry by Magistrate Monica Vella.

Driver was subjected to a psychological examination

Fifty people, all foreigners and coming from 14 countries, were injured in the accident on Monday that left two dead, a Spanish woman and a Belgian man.

About seven of them, including three children, were still being treated in hospital at the time of writing. Four of them were in critical condition.

A former co-worker of the Belgian victim told the Times of Malta on Wednesday Richard Koenraad De Vrieze, 62, had just retired and wanted to “enjoy life”.

Mr de Vrieze’s wife, Hilde, was seated next to him on the bus when it hit a tree – possibly a bough – on Valletta Street, Żurrieq. She escaped unharmed.

The couple arrived on April 4, their arrival having been delayed by a day as they were stuck in Charleroi airport because of a computer failure at Eurocontrol, according to the Belgian press. They were due to spend a week on the island and the bus tour was among their first activities here.

Tour operators said yesterday said it was “back to business as usual”.

“Tours continue and we are going through the same routes we have always done. The take-up is normal,” one bus tour operator said.

About 15 tourist buses every day use the route where the fatal accident occurred.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.