A man who was seriously injured when a bomb blew up in a Għargħur farm a week ago today is making a steady recovery and he is expected to be interviewed by the police shortly. Police sources said he could hold the key to unlocking the case.

Investigators were expected to speak to Kevin Ellul, 42, who sustained serious injuries to his abdomen in the blast, possibly today, the sources said, adding that, in past bomb explosion cases, survivors had remained tight-lipped. However, this time, the investigators, already had a few leads to follow from other interrogations carried out, the sources said.

Two men, one who had been waiting for Mr Ellul outside the agricultural store room where the bomb detonated, and another who had fled the scene soon after the blast, have already been questioned by the police.

“What the police will be looking for when we speak to the victim are details and any inconsistencies with the versions of events they have already heard that could help them piece together what really went on. They could also come across some new details that could be essential,” the sources said.

What the police will be looking for when we speak to the victim are details and any inconsistencies

The Times of Malta has reported that the police were not ruling out the possibility that the bomb was being manufactured when it went off last Wednesday.

Though preliminary investigations were already giving some indications on what happened, it was still “far too early” to tell whether Mr Ellul was the intended target and nothing was being ruled out at this point, the sources pointed out.

“Investigations continue and it is still not clear what happened exactly. However, judging by what we have seen at the scene of the crime it would appear the explosion was caused by a bomb that was still ‘open’ or being assembled,” a senior investigator told this newspaper.

The blast, and the crater it left behind, indicated it was not as powerful as other explosions that have occurred over the past months, including car bombs, he added.

Forensic samples lifted from the crime scene and the crater and fragments of the explosive device recovered by experts were still being analysed. “This will hopefully give investigators more of a conclusive idea of what happened there,” the sources said.