Maltese Firework Factory Explosion

I dont want to put anyone down, but yesthere was an explosion at a firework factory in beloved Malta, the experts on multibreak and beraq + beautifully timed shell inserts.
sadly 4 people died with 2 critical. if any of you manage to find a video of it ( will try and get link further in this post) but seems like the whole factory just went of at once, not just lots of shells like you usually see at any firework factory explosion. here is the report : --->right here<----- (couldnt find the other video)

anyways thats all if you didnt hear about it

Bye

A terrible tragedy. Mine & I'm sure everyone's hearts go out to those that are left behind.

The report is followed by lots of people saying that fireworks should be banned. Understandable in the circumstances, but as we know, not to the point. The Maltese love their fireworks and it's a proud tradition going back a hundred years. What it needed is a cool evaluation of what happened & the putting in place of measures to make the factories safer.

Also, as I read it the fireworks were taken to Gozo from the factory - is this another 'factory' accident that was actually storage or fusing?

This is just awful, Im stunned and gutted that this has happened to those fine Maltese firework artists,..... especially as I was posting comments on the forum only a few days ago about saving/recording the maltese firework traditions.

My heart go`s out to all those families & friends of the victims.

P.S- There is youtube film of the aftermath,...which maybe `Karls` recordings?, but I can`t quite bring myself to post them on here so soon after the tradegy.

Phil i also noted on that point, i am not sure whether it was the whole entire factory or just a storage location ? :/ but its such a shame the owner of the company was lost in the explosion and his 2 sons, just such a tragic accident.....it sort of hits home on the dangerous of making these sort of things, although the report doesn't say how it happened, my heart goes out to him and his family, especially as he is so similar to us, loving the use of pyrotechnics in a form of art...

Very, very sad; a sobering reminder of the power of what we deal with and why we have to treat it with the utmost respect. If the material had been brought over from the main island it's very possible they were working at a storage facility, maybe fusing items up. I would guess that most Maltese material is a very solid 1.1G hazard, anything with their kind of powder weight and lots of flash inserts just is: any reasonable amount of that kind of item in even loosely confining storage is going to make one big bang. It's a shame there isn't some kind of online book of condolences for such situations, as I'm sure pyros from all over the world would want to send their wishes to the families of those involved.

hrm that sounds like a thing i could set up, maybe like just an online "1 topic thread" where people from around the world can just post their condolences in one huge thread ? so the familys of those lost to fireworks or explosives can read the comments, it wont be a haters thread of fireworks, just condolences ? :/ just a suggestion

hrm that sounds like a thing i could set up, maybe like just an online "1 topic thread" where people from around the world can just post their condolences in one huge thread ? so the familys of those lost to fireworks or explosives can read the comments, it wont be a haters thread of fireworks, just condolences ? :/ just a suggestion

If you can do something like that, go for it, though it might be better if there was a separate one for each event. I suspect a lot of the smaller factories in Malta don't really realise the respect that is held for them around the pyro-world.

Bricks and mortar can always be rebuilt but this seems such a tragedy for the family. So much bad news this week.

My brother returned from Malta today but I doubt he's heard more. The suggestion is that they were loading or unloading a van full of shells but it's too early to speculate.

A longer news video below (Maltese):

A husband and wife and a 27-year-old man lost their lives in a massive fireworks factory explosion near Gharb in Gozo at about 6.10 p.m on Sunday.
Another man is missing and feared dead while two men aged 32 and 35, are in intensive care at Mater Dei Hospital, having been airlifted by AFM helicopter.
People near the area said they heard three powerful blasts from the factory, located is an isolated valley near Gharb. A mushroom-shaped cloud formed over the scene and debris was scattered over a wide area. A number of cars were destroyed. Windows at some residences near Gharb were shattered.
Policemen and Civil Protection Department rescuers arrrived within a short time and started the search for possible survivors. The search continues on Monday morning.
The victims were all from the same family.
The police said the dead were Noel Farrugia, 31 and his wife Antoinette, 21 of Fontana and 27-year-old Jean Pierre Azzopardi of Zebbug.
Noel's father Ninu is missing.
The two injured men are also related to Ninu. They are his son Ray and his son-in-law Pawlu.
The fireworks were being prepared for the feast of Our Lady of Victories being celebrated in Xaghra on Wednesday. It is understood that most of the fireworks had been manufactured in Malta.
Magistrate Paul Coppini is holding an inquiry.
This was the second explosion at the same site in five years. The other blast, in August 2005, took place during the night. No one was killed or injured.
The tragedy at Gharb is the worst in a bitter year for fireworks enthusiasts. A man died in an explosion at the August 15 fireworks factory in Dwejra, Mosta on August 13 and another died last May at St Catherine's Fireworks Factory in Marsaxlokk.
Two men lost their lives in February at the St Sebastian Fireworks Factory in Qormi and another two escaped unhurt in another explosion at St Bartolomeo Factory in Gharghur in April.


Live footage recorded during a football match:


You can actually hear the explosions.

Very sad this happened
Not the first time there...

Thought you might like to read this; http://www.maltatoda...mber-referendum