A bus driver who was slammed on social media for “blocking an ambulance” had no choice because there was a concrete truck in front of him and reversing would have been dangerous for passengers, Malta Public Transport said.

A video that went viral on Wednesday shows a bus stopped by the side of the road in St Julian's.

The person shooting the video walks towards the bus and films an ambulance staff member speaking to the driver who is on the phone and visibly concerned.

Right in front of the bus a concrete mixer is also stationary. The person filming shows a gap between the bus and the wall on the left suggesting that the driver could have moved the bus closer to the wall.

Some Facebook users slammed the “foreign driver” for "blocking" the ambulance and failing to move the bus closer to the wall to allow traffic through.

Student platform Freehour posted the video with the words “'a**hole' - bus driver blocks ambulance from passing in St Julian's”.  They were quoting the ambulance driver's comments.

But some readers defended the driver and pointed out the obvious – the massive truck in front of the bus.

A concrete mixer did not allow the bus to move forward.

When contacted, Malta Public Transport noted that the driver had no choice.

“The company apologises for the delay depicted in the video. Unfortunately, the bus was unable to proceed due to an accident involving third parties, one of which was the ready-mix truck shown in the video, which obstructed the path of the bus," the spokesperson said.

"The bus driver immediately contacted the control room in an effort to resolve the situation, and was advised against reversing with passengers onboard due to safety procedures, as it was also evident that had the bus moved the road would still be blocked by the ready-mix truck.

"There was also not enough physical space for the bus to carry out the requested manoeuvre," the spokesperson said adding that the driver had to leave a gap between the vehicle and the wall to allow passengers off the bus. 

The authorities were subsequently contacted to assist in clearing the road, and the bus was able to move "shortly after the accident was cleared, a spokesperson added.