Updated 4.45pm with quotes from the victim.

A 15-year-old girl narrowly escaped injury when she fell down a manhole outside an apartment block on Swieqi Road, Swieqi, last Sunday.

Witness Liana Yagoubi, who was walking with her four-year-old daughter at midday, recounted the incident on social media.

The 15-year-old girl was walking alongside them when she fell down the manhole, which had been covered by a flimsy piece of wood for the last three months. Luckily, she managed to push the child out of the way before she fell down. 

According to Yagoubi, the teenager ended up with half her body down the manhole.

"Thankfully, she wasn’t badly injured because she managed to hold herself up, but she was quite shaken," Yagoubi told Times of Malta.

She expressed her fears of what might have happened had it been the four-year-old who fell in instead. "Had she fallen, she could have been badly hurt or, even worse, possibly died."

The victim, who spoke to Times of Malta later, confirmed the incident but asked not to be named.

"I was in the hole up to my chest. My leg has a big scratch, but it’s nothing too bad. I was scared and in shock. God knows what would have happened had I not pushed her (the four-year-old) out of the way,” she said.

“I hope this doesn’t happen again.”

Local council's appeals ignored

Yagoubi attempted to report the incident to the local council but was told it was not their responsibility.

Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat explained that the responsibility lies with the property owners. Describing it as a "terrible accident", Muscat said he had repeatedly asked the police to contact the property owners to address the hazard, but his appeals were ignored.

"If I had the power, I would fix it myself... In this case, it isn’t the council’s responsibility but it is our responsibility to keep people out of danger. I feel sorry that this happened."

The property in question is a block of flats owned by multiple individuals. When contacted, one of the owners told Times of Malta said they were unsure who was responsible for fixing the manhole.