Twenty-one people were killed in work accidents in the last five years, the National Statistics Office has said.

All the victims were men and most were self employed or worked for very small companies when they died while doing their jobs between 2014 and 2018.

According to figures provided by the Occupational Health and Safety Authority the men were mostly aged between 25 and 34.

More than half of the victims were Maltese. Fatal accidents involving employees accounted for nearly two-thirds of all work fatalities in the period.

The self-employed-without-employees category, together with enterprises engaging one to nine employees, were the most affected. With just one fatality, larger companies (250+) registered the lowest number of fatal accidents.

Half of such deaths were caused by head injuries. Other causes included injuries to the torso and organs. The majority were due to concussions and internal injuries.

More than half of work-related deaths during the period were in construction. Half the victims were engaged in crafts and related trades or in elementary occupations.