The sound of urgent knocking awoke Rita Seguna 16 years ago when shipyard security staff, accompanied by police officers, turned up outside her house to let her know her husband had been injured in a huge explosion at work.
“It was about 5.30 or 6.30 a.m. and they told me he was hurt. I got the fright of my life. From the expression on their faces I realised the situation was much more serious,” Mrs Seguna said as she held a plaque marking the death of her husband, Paul, and another eight shipyard workers on February 3, 1995.
All nine men lost their lives when the 3,148-tonne Libyan tanker Um el Faroud exploded in Dock 3 at Malta Drydocks. The blast is believed to have been caused by an accumulation of gas which ignited at about 10.30 p.m., devastating the mid and bow sections of the 115-metre long vessel.
The victims were Carmelo Callus, 47, of Valletta, George Aquilina, 25, of Qormi, Simon Pisani, 22, of Msida, Simon Mifsud, 27, of Vittoriosa, Mario Hales, 40, of Mqabba, Angelo Sciberras, 52, of Żabbar, George Xuereb, 58, of Qormi, Paul Seguna, 37, of Żebbuġ, and Anthony Vassallo, 30, of Dingli.
Seven died instantly and two – Mr Xuereb and Mr Seguna – passed away in hospital.
The tragic accident that had shocked the country was recalled yesterday during a wreath-laying ceremony organised by Palumbo Shipyards that took over the shipyards last year.
Cospicua archpriest Fr Malcolm Agius said it was important not to forget the men who lost their lives while doing their job. Each morning, he said, before setting out to work, shipyard workers uttered the same words to their loved ones: “I’m off to work, don’t worry if I’m late.” He called on the company not to forget the needs of the workers.
The explosion had stripped several families of their husbands, fathers and sons and shipyards’ workers had lost their colleagues, said Palumbo official Joseph Calleja as he told the families the yard’s gates were always open for them to visit the monument, in the form of an anchor.
The relatives who gathered for the ceremony appreciated the gesture.
“I’m glad they still commemorate the tragedy after 16 years... at least they still remember them,” Mrs Seguna said. Her husband had been working at the shipyards since he was 23 and, when he died, she was left to raise their three children – aged between three and six years old – alone.
Regina Aquilina lost her son George in the explosion. “We can never forget it. They were good boys...
“We were a tight-knit family... but the thought of your son, buried under the earth does not allow you to live the normal life you are meant to live,” Mrs Aquilina said.
Carmen Xuereb’s husband was a supervisor and, she recalled, he loved his workers.
“He died the day after the explosion. I was told that on his way to hospital he asked about his workers and was concerned for his family,” she said.
“Whenever Christmas comes I realise that another year has almost passed... Life has to go on but there is always something missing... even when you are happy, there is something missing.”
An inquiry by then Magistrate Noel Cuschieri found the yard was mainly responsible for the explosion. The families had reached an amicable settlement with the government over the tragedy.
In 1998, the Um El Faroud was removed from Dock 3 and scuttled at Wied iż-Żurrieq to serve as an artificial reef.