Mapped: How a fireworks factory blast damaged homes up to 2km away

The impacts of Monday’s massive fireworks factory blast stretched far beyond the 183-metre protective buffer zone designated by law, damaging homes kilometres away, an exercise carried out by Times of Malta shows. 

While the blast somehow did not cause any severe injuries to residents and farmers nearby, it caused severe damages to homes, hostels and farms in the surrounding areas, stretching as far as Bidnija.

Pyrotechnics experts and forensic laboratory specialists carried out a further site inspection on Saturday morning as investigators continued examining the scene to try to establish the potential cause of the blast as well as to whether the factory was operating according to the law.

Sources said preliminary reports were expected in the coming week, with experts told to ensure "full transparency" in their findings and that nobody would be shielded from scrutiny.

The inquiry, led by Magistrate Joe Mifsud, will delve deep into the explosion, which left dead birds and livestock and damaged dozens of properties.

Monday’s explosion made headlines around the world, with the incident caught on mobile phone footage. Though nobody was seriously injured, the widespread impact is almost unprecedented. 

According to the law, fireworks factories need to be located 183 metres away from an inhabited area, understood to be an area in which more than one hundred people live.

However, the scale of the blast shows how its effects were felt well beyond this distance, with homes as far as two kilometres away experiencing damage.

170 metres away: cow farm

A cow farm just a stone’s throw, roughly 170 metres, away from the factory was one of the worst-hit structures.

Four cows were killed by the blast, with several others believed to have had to be put down after suffering injuries.

Police inspecting the cow farm on Monday. Photo: James Vella, Facebook

500 metres away: White Star hostel

The White Star hostel, some 500 metres north of the Lourdes fireworks factory, had its doors blown in by the explosion.

Two hotel guests were showered with glass as they slept when the blast occurred.

Doors blown in at the White Star hostel. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

650 metres away: BirdPark

Several birds were killed at the BirdPark, roughly 650 metres away from the explosion.

The birds killed included a pink flamingo, an owl and a 57-year-old parrot. Some birds died directly from the blast, while others died as they tried to escape in the turmoil that followed.

The park also suffered structural damage, with doors blasted off their hinges and air-conditioning units detached from walls.

The sanctuary lost a number of birds to the explosion. Photo: Bird Park Malta.

600 metres away: Magħtab homes

Residents in the Magħtab area reported damage to their homes, including broken apertures and shattered glass.

The homes are just 600 metres away from the factory.

Broken apertures at homes in Magħtab.

One kilometre away: Naxxar industrial estate

Factories in the Naxxar industrial estate, over a kilometre away, suffered some damage, including jammed doors and cracked apertures.

1.5 kilometres away: St Paul’s Bay homes

Several videos shared online throughout the past week show damage to properties across the St Paul’s Bay and Qawra area.

Some videos showed glass shattering as the factory exploded in the backdrop, while others depicted broken doors and apertures.

Two kilometres away: Naxxar homes

Further afield, some homes on the outskirts of Naxxar also reported damage, with one resident describing wooden panels having caved in. 

The homes are over two kilometres south of the fireworks factory.

Two kilometres away: Bidnija homes

Two kilometres away, some homes in Bidnija also suffered shattered and cracked glass at the time of the explosion.

A damaged house in Bidnija.