[WATCH] Barracuda eyewitness: ‘We went indoors because it was too cold to eat on balcony’

Diners escape Barracuda collapse after going indoors because of cold evening air

Photo: Chris Mangion
Photo: Chris Mangion
Restaurant balcony collapse • Barracuda patron wanted to dine out on balcony but wife said it was too cold

A British diner who witnessed the collapse of the balcony of the Barracuda restaurant on Balluta Bay, said it was his wife who decided not to have a meal outside on the balcony because of the cool evening air.

Peter Graham Tolan was in Malta attending a conference and was one of four diners at the Barracuda restaurant. He said that on Sunday, the restaurant was full of diners and that tonight the eatery was less busy.

“We wanted to eat outside on the balcony but my wife said it was too cold so we stayed inside. We were halfway through our meal when we heard this horrible, horrible noise.

“We thought it was part of the festa celebration, but then we realised that something more serious had happened… it was fortunate that the restaurant was not very busy because there was nobody sitting out on that part of the balcony.:

Tolan said that staff reacted very fast to the incident.

“The army and emergency services were also on the scene very quickly… a short time later we saw an injured person being taken on board of the patrol boat.”

Tolan said that outside the restaurant was “total chaos”.

The balcony of the popular Barracuda restaurant in Balluta Bay, Sliema, collapsed this evening, while people were dining inside it. The accident happened at around 8:10pm.

A total of eight diners have been admitted to hospital, all of which were French nationals. Amongst them is a 46-year-old man who has been confirmed to be suffering from grievous injuries, while a 46-year-old woman is in critical condition and is in danger of dying. The rest of the injured people are confirmed to have only minor injuries.

A medical team was summoned to the Le Meridien to offer medical care to three diners who fell in the water during the balcony collapse.

When the balcony collapsed the people dining inside it fell through the floor and landed on the lower one occupied by the Piccola Padre restaurant.