[WATCH] Prime Minister visits disaster site for second time: 'Too early to comment'

Robert Abela has visited the disaster site in Santa Venera where rescuers are still trying to find a woman who was buried in a building collapse.

“I prefer not to comment at this stage; it is too early to comment,” the Prime Minister told MaltaToday as he left the area at around 9:35pm.

Abela met with rescuers and the victim’s relatives as the laborious operation to try and locate mother-of-two Miriam Pace underneath the rubble continued.

The Prime Minister had already visited the disaster site earlier, when he conversed with Miriam’s husband, Carmel.

The rescue operation is proving to be slow because of the dangers posed by the unstable rubble.

The house collapsed shortly before 2:30pm while Miriam was inside. The building is next to a construction site where excavation works started last month.

Government introduced stricter regulations on demolition and excavation works last year in the wake of three serious incidents where buildings next to construction sites collapsed.

However, the new rules are now being questioned after today’s incident, which is by far the most serious.