Updated | Four still critical after Żurrieq bus accident, including two children

Updated at 6.41pm with ministerial statement

Two children are among four people still in intensive care at Mater Dei hospital after suffering critical injuries in Monday’s horrific accident involving an open-top bus.

The freak accident claimed the lives of a 62-year-old Belgian man and a 37-year-old Spanish woman and injured 50 others.

Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi

By Tuesday afternoon, eight people were still in hospital, including the four who remained critical. Apart from the two children in critical condition, another child is among those still in hospital.

Meanwhile, the Tourism Ministry said a support unit was set up within the Malta Tourism Authority to liaise with the country representatives of the victims and relatives. “The unit is providing all the required support in these difficult moments,” Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi said.

In the aftermath of the incident, the focus has shifted to the police investigation and magisterial inquiry as they try to establish what happened.

While initial reports on the day of the incident suggested the double decker may have hit low-lying branches, it appears the vehicle actually hit one of the tree’s main limbs. This suggests, the bus may have been very close to the pavement when the accident occurred.

The 24-year-old driver of the tourist bus is being questioned by the police after receiving treatment for shock in hospital.

Driver had a valid licence

In a joint ministerial statement in Parliament on Tuesday evening Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and Transport Minister Ian Borg expressed their condolences to the relatives of the victims. They were joined by Opposition leader Adrian Delia.

Fearne said that the two children in intensive care were aged six and eight. One of the children remained critical, while the other was in a stable condition. By Tuesday evening, seven people were still hospitalised.

Both ministers refrained from delving into the mechanics of the incident, insisting a magisterial inquiry was underway. Fearne specified that the help offered by the tourism authority was on a humanitarian basis and did not imply any of the government agencies were assuming responsibility for what happened.

Borg said the driver of the double-decker bus had a valid licence to operate such vehicles.

Replying to a call by Opposition MP Mario de Marco for all open-top bus operations to be temporarily suspended until safety checks on all routes were conducted, Borg said it was premature to speculate on what might have happened and whether this was a human error, an error of negligence or an accident caused by some danger on the street.

Nationalist Party deputy leader Robert Arrigo noted that the two children in intensive care were residents with their parents at his hotel and described the anguish of their father.