PN demands immediate action, answers on 'unprecedented' Paceville incident

Opposition says tragedy ‘could have been avoided’ if government had given heed to its suggestions

From left: David Agius, Beppe Fenech Adami and Matthew Agius (Photo: Ray Attard)
From left: David Agius, Beppe Fenech Adami and Matthew Agius (Photo: Ray Attard)

The Nationalist Opposition urged the government to explain what went wrong on Saturday night, during an incident that landed over 70 youths in hospital and health care centres.

Flanked by whip David Agius and MZPN president Matthew Agius, PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami also claimed that the tragedy “could have been avoided” if the government had given heed to the PN’s proposals.

The PN also urged the government to take immediate action to avoid any recurrence of the "unprecedented" incident.

Speaking at a press conference, Fenech Adami said the government had to come forward with replies: “Telling people that a magisterial inquiry is underway is not enough. People have a right to know why this incident has happened.”

"Those injured, their parents and other youths need answers about what caused the stampede and whether the club was overcrowded,” he added calling the incident "unprecedented."

Fenech Adami also said that the outcome of the magisterial inquiry is made public and urged the government to launch an independent inquiry into the incident. He also accused home affairs minister Carmelo Abela od "dragging his feet" when confronted by such an urgent situation.

He questioned whether the establishment in question had undergon the necessary health and safety audits, and whether regulations were being followed.

"Fresh footage also shows that there were many minutes building up to the incident, with people pushing to get out of the club for around 15 minutes, which naturally begs the question whether there were enough police officers on the site," Fenech Adami said.

He further added that the PN had been making suggestions to tackle the ever-deteriorating situation in Paceville, including a  24 hour police station, a full-time rapid intervention unit as well as more police officers patrolling the streets in the area.

"Had these suggestions been taken on board, the incident might not have occurred at all, " he said adding that the government had accused the PN of being alarmist at the time.

He further added that responsibility needed to be shouldered both by the owners of the nightclub for their failure to enforce regulations, and by the government itself for not having taken steps to instill better security.

David Agius and Matthew Agius also spoke of the young people's right to have a place to enjoy themselves, but stressed the need for this to be a safe place.