The owner of a garage that caved in as a result of the fatal Ħamrun building collapse says he cannot believe his life could have also been in the balance. 

“When you think about it, I was lucky. I lost a few cars but the family above me lost a mother and a wife. To think that your life is in the hands of a few contractors and builders when works like this are happening. It’s a scary thought,” Charles Pace, 70, said.

His multi-car garage used to sit directly beneath the family home, which was reduced to rubble on Monday, claiming the life of 54-year-old mother of two Miriam Pace (no relation).

Speaking to Times of Malta, the garage owner said he had no idea of the danger the excavation works next door to his property could pose.

He had last been in the garage on Saturday, to check on the six cars he keeps there, including a family friend’s small hatchback that he had agreed to keep there for a few days.

She is going straight to heaven – she was such a lovely soul

With those cars now buried beneath an avalanche of limestone slabs and concrete bricks, Pace said he would be seeking legal advice, along with others in the neighbourhood, on how to claim damages to his property.  

“Well, I spoke to the government architect and to some others here. Now we’ll see but you know how these things are, it will go on and on now,” he said.

At least three other families, with homes close to the destroyed Pace residence, have been evacuated from the area, with the shocked residents moving in with friends and family for the time being. 

Meanwhile, Pace said he was saddened at the news of his neighbour’s death. 

“I knew Miriam well, for years, in fact, ever since she started living here. It’s so sad but I know she is going straight to heaven – she was such a lovely soul,” he said, describing her death as the loss of a loved one.