Paqpaq host ‘silent’ under President’s instructions over supercar crash

On Facebook, Tonio Darmanin releases short statement saying he is ‘personally devastated’ over Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina supercar crash that injured 26

Paqpaqli TV host Tonio Darmanin and Porsche supercar owner Paul Bailey
Paqpaqli TV host Tonio Darmanin and Porsche supercar owner Paul Bailey

The host of TV show Paqpaqli, Tonio Darmanin, has said he will not comment on the events of Sunday 4 October where a charity event he hosted for the Malta Community Chest Fund ended with 26 people being run over by a Porsche supercar.

Darmanin’s only comment was released on his Facebook wall, saying he would not comment due to a magisterial inquiry being underway.

He also said that he was under instruction of the office of the President of the Republic, which runs the MCCF charity.

“In line with instructions issued by the Office of the President, I cannot comment upon the events that took place [Sunday] until the magisterial inquiry takes its due course.

“I wish however to express my personal devastation that an event intended to bring joy and help to others took the turn it did. I express my sincere concern and solidarity with each injured person, their families and friends, and am thankful to those who genuinely share in the wish for everyone’s full recovery. I also thank all those involved in assisting the injured for their sterling work.”

Darmanin said Monday’s edition of his car show Paqpaq, that was meant to feature Sunday’s event, will not be broadcast.

Questions about the level of safety that was present at the Malta airport runway during a charity event that raised money for the Malta Community Chest Fund: when the Porsche owner Paul Bailey lost control of his supercar, it crashed right through plastic barriers that had no form of resistance.

The Times of Malta also reported that liability for damages incurred during the event would be hard to claim for victims of Sunday’s incident, because the event was organised by volunteers raising funds for the Malta Community Chest Fund, and the Office of the President enjoys immunity from civil and criminal prosecution.

A former professional F3 driver also told the newspaper that inadequate crash barriers and poor positioning of a chicane on the track could have been major contributing factors in Sunday’s crash. “From what I have seen of the footage, the placement of the chicane was a fundamental error as the exit seems to push a car at speed towards the grass,” Maltese-Australian driver Damien Digby said.

On Facebook few people seem to have shown any concern over the Paqpaqli’s organisers lack of safety procedures. Indeed lawyer Georg Sapiano, a former PN candidate and broadcaster, posted questions about the extent of safety planning on Tonio Darmanin’s Facebook wall to that effect.

“I do not wish to comment or express an opinion without knowing the facts. Instead, I'd like to ask these questions: was the steel crash barrier the only thing separating the crowd from the track? Were there piles of tyres to absorb any impact? Was the crash barrier fixed or simply placed? Did anybody go through the motions of a worst-case scenario? If the answers to the above suggest, as it seems, a lapse of logical and safe planning then this is a tragedy that could have been avoided.”