Tragedy at Freeport
A 43-year-old man from Zejtun died yesterday morning after a crane he was manoeuvring toppled over and crashed into the sea at the Malta Freeport complex in Birzebbuga. The incident took place at the Medserv premises, which lie inside the Freeport complex.
The man, later identified as Hubert Muscat, who is father to a 14year-old girl, was brought ashore by his colleagues and was taken to Mater Dei Hospital but was later certified dead.
Sources said the crane that toppled over was a large structure that can lift in excess of 100 tonnes.
Investigations are ongoing and a magisterial inquiry has been launched.
In a statement this afternoon Medserv said it too is holding its own investigation.
“It is with great sadness that Medserv confirms that a member of its staff has died as a result of an accident at our Malta base today. Our focus is currently on providing support to the victim’s family, as well as to our staff who are distraught by this terrible accident.
“Operations have been suspended for the rest of the day.
“Safety is our top priority and an internal investigation has been launched. This is the first grievous accident in the company’s 40+ year history and we want to ensure we obtain a clear and detailed picture of the events that took place.
“The incident occurred at 9.15am yesterday. Our own trained first aiders provided immediate support until first response units where onsite.
“We can confirm that there was no operation underway at the time and that the individual concerned was a qualified and experienced crane driver.”
Reacting to this news, the Occupation Health and Safety Authority said that this was the fifth accident which occurred while the person was at work this year, and shows that occupational danger does not only exist for those working in construction sites.
In a statement, OHSA said it will not dwell into the merit of this particular case, but will call on all employers to safeguard the health and safety of their employees. The authority said that every place of work should be evaluated for any possible risk.