A&E staff collect funds to repatriate Romanian storm accident victim’s body

Mater Dei Hospital’s accident and emergency department (A&E) has collected the funds necessary to repatriate the body of a Romanian man who was killed in a freak accident during Saturday’s storm.

Dan Udrea, 38, was killed when a tree fell on his car in Mrieħel. His wife, who was also in the car, was seriously injured.

Mater Dei CEO Ivan Falzon said yesterday that the A&E team was leading an effort to collect funds so that the victim could be repatriated back to his home country for burial close to his family.

Falzon later said his Paypal account had been inundated with donations. “We reached the target in less than 12 hours. Spoke to to A&E leads and we agreed to leave donations open. All the monies collected will be donated to the family members of Mr Udrea,” he said. “We’re so thankful and proud of this collective effort.”

Dan Udrea was described as a logistics expert who left his homeland seven years ago and came to Malta with his wife to find work. He worked with a courier company. The couple had driven their two children, aged three years and six months, to his mother’s house shortly before disaster struck.

The man was certified dead on site, while his wife was released from the wreckage of their Nissan van by members of the Civil Protection Department and hospitalised with grievous injuries.