[WATCH] Sliema roof caves in after crane drops bricks, no injuries reported

Sliema roof caves in after crane drops bricks, no injuries reported

The woman was listening to the radio when the bricks fell just right next to her

The roof of a block of Sliema apartments on Pace Street caved in this afternoon after bricks were dislodged from an overhead crane.
A spokesperson for the Police confirmed that nobody was injured in the incident, which happened at 3pm. Witnesses said an ambulance had been called.
A woman, 51, was lying down in her bedroom listening to the radio when part of the ceiling collapsed under the weight of the bricks. Luckily, she was not hit by the bricks that landed right next to her.

Her husband, George Bruno, told MaltaToday that he was in the kitchen when he heard a loud noise and rushed into the bedroom where his wife was resting.

The couple live on the third floor of the 80-year-old building.

The bricks were dislodged from an overhead crane

“The stones came down onto the bed just a few inches away from my wife,” Bruno said, shaking his head as the woman stood outside on the landing whilst workers cleared the debris.

Bruno said that the house next door had been bought by a contractor who tore it down to build a seven-story block of apartments. The block is currently four stories.

A concrete block fell a height of one storey onto Bruno's roof. The membrane held the brick up but knocked the bricks in the ceiling into the bedroom.

Bruno’s architect, Mario Pirotta, insisted that the incident was the result of “carelessness”.

“This is unacceptable and there needs to be better health and safety measures,” he argued.