Diver films 'big disaster' as debris piles up at abandoned Valletta site

Mounds of foul-smelling debris have been piling up on the site of the Valletta water polo pitch with the waste scattered also across the seabed below as one diver called on the authorities to clear up the “big disaster”.

Raniero Borg filmed what he termed as a “horrible scene” on Wednesday after noticing the waste on the abandoned construction site, both on land and in the sea.

“Big disaster on land and you have no idea what it looks like under the sea. Horrible scene,” he said.

The video shows piles of debris ranging from a fridge, a freezer, a wooden boat, broken doors, to several plastic bags and organic food waste bags.

Borg suggested that people “drive by and dump their waste down there” through a missing section of protective netting surrounding the site that was meant to prevent such illegal dumping.

Meanwhile, Borg pointed out that tourists are often seen standing on a nearby platform admiring the view across Marsamxett Harbour and locals swim in the area in summer.

Under the sea the situation is just as bad with long metres of plastic netting strewn across the seabed and several panels of metal shuttering.

Expressing his “frustration” at the situation, Borg called on the Valletta Local Council to “close this from the public and clear this up”.