Flaming torch turns into a fireball at Salib ta’ l-Għolja procession
No injuries reported, fire was extinguished before it could spread
No one was injured when a flaming torch turned into a fireball on the Salib ta’ l-Għolja hill in Siġġiewi on Thursday evening.
As hundreds of people flocked to the traditional walk up the hill in prayer on Maundy Thursday, a woman who was attempting to light a flaming torch near the bottom of the hill saw her fjakkola blow up into a fireball.
People ran away for cover as a nearby grassy patch caught fire but the fire was quickly extinguished before it could spread.
Thousands of pilgrims gather every year to walk together while praying and singing hymns in a torch-lit procession up the hill to the Laferla Cross on top of a 219 metre high hill outside Siġġiewi.
The way leading up to the cross is illuminated with torches and candlelight in a tradition which started in 1994.