The body of the 24-year-old Venezuelan chef, who was killed in a Marsa traffic accident last week, is being sent to Sicily to be cremated, his fiancée told Times of Malta.

The ashes of Jesús David Reina Quero will then be flown back to Malta from where they will be taken to his home country for final burial, said Maria Giraud.

Jesus’s mother travelled to Malta for the ceremony and the family may be holding a vigil here but details are not yet finalised, Maria said, adding that they still do not know what happened exactly and are hoping to get a copy of the police report soon.

Jesus, who lived in Msida, was killed in the accident as he crossed the Marsa road on October 24.

He was hit by a Mercedes Benz C250, driven by a 66-year-old man from Fgura on December 13 Road. He died later in Mater Dei Hospital.

A magisterial inquiry has been launched and the police are investigating the fatality.

His fiancée described her heartache at realising he was the victim of the incident after recognising his shoes in a picture carried on a news report.

She also described having to wait some 18 hours before a friend was allowed to identify the body. 

Maria came to Malta 10 months ago to join her partner, who had moved here three years earlier.

Close to the time of the accident, Maria had noticed that Jesús was missing. She told Times of Malta how the young chef had gone to take his knives for sharpening in Birżebbuġa by bus but never picked them up.

She spoke to him via WhatsApp at 1.29pm, just over 40 minutes before the accident.

“Later, I tried reaching him and I spoke to some of his colleagues who he was meant to meet. He never turned up,” she recalled. 

Friends set up a crowdfunding campaign to help raise funds to send his remains home to Venezuela. The money – €8,000 – was collected within a few days.