Dangerous asbestos-riddled Mosta bunker accessible after gate vandalised

A Mosta wartime bunker with exposed asbestos ceilings near the MCAST arts building is accessible after the gate was vandalised, posing a danger to anyone who ventures inside.

The shelter was built by the British during the Cold War in the Rihana valley as an alternative command post in case of nuclear fallout. It was constructed deep into the rock to keep radiation at bay and fitted with a filtration system to supply clean air to anyone sheltering inside. 

After the British left the island, the structure fell into disrepair and was left to vandals, with its walls covered in graffiti.

Asbestos sheeting within the structure has since been broken apart, exposing the material underneath.

The issue was flagged recently on social media by an explorer who visited the site and found asbestos.

MaltaToday visited the site on Wednesday (we did not venture inside), where we found the main entrance is fitted with a rusted iron gate that remains shut, the metal bar on the gate was cut off, making an entrance big enough for those who want to venture inside. 

Photos taken at the site show the bunker's current state, with every surface covered in graffiti

Inside, a section of wall shows crumbling white sheeting with rows of dark rods running through it, cracked open and exposed to the air. 

Elsewhere on the site, the metal bar that had been cut out was found lying among dry branches and left-behind trash, and a bundle of old rugs was stuffed against the base of a second gate. 

A separate stone stairway, its steps roughly hewn, leads down into a darker chamber further inside the rock.

The site is understood to have previously been welded shut on both sides a few years ago after people, including students from the nearby Mosta Creative Arts students, were getting in.

Mosta Local Council to place a shutter around the area

When contacted by MaltaToday, Mosta mayor Joseph Gatt said the bunker had originally been closed off but had been vandalised over time.

The main entrance, he said, which was fitted with a rusted iron gate, had one of its metal bars cut off with a chasesaw so that people are able to get in.

He said the council had issued a works order to a contractor so that the area would be safe and sealed. "The plan is to place an iron shutter all around the structure to close it off and put an end to the abuse."