[WATCH] One dead, one seriously injured in Cospicua wall collapse

Updated at 1:44pm with OHSA statement

One foreign worker has died, and a Maltese worker was hospitalised after a wall inside a construction site collapsed.

The incident took place at around 8am in Sqaq l-Erwieħ, Cospicua.

Police said workers were excavating rock to lay foundations for the construction of a guesthouse when the wall fell.

Officers from the Civil Protection are now on site to remove debris and make the area safe for the body to be extracted

The victim is a 32-year-old man from Gambia, the police have confirmed. A 35-year-old Maltese worker was taken to Mater Dei Hospital for further treatment and his has been described as serious.

Officers from the Civil Protection were on-site to remove debris and make the area safe for the body to be extracted. The police, ambulances and medical teams are also on site.

A priest was also on site to administer last rights to the person who died. "Pray for him. He was only trying to earn his daily bread," the priest said as he exited the alley.

Members of the Department of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and those from the Building Regulation Office were also at the scene of the accident.

This incident is just the latest in a series of fatal construction collapses, just four months after the death of Miriam Pace in Hamrun. 

An investigation is being conducted by the Cospicua District Police. Magistrate Charmaine Galea has been appointed to the inquiry.

Boundary wall next to excavated area collapsed

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority said initial investigations showed that the accident was caused by the collapse of "a temporary boundary wall, next to which excavation was being or had been carried out".

OHSA said it will continue with its own investigations, and will be cooperating with the ongoing magisterial inquiry. The Building and Construction Agency was also alerted to investigate under the Avoidance of Damages to Third Party Property Regulations.