The daughter of a woman who died in a house collapse in Ħamrun has shared an emotional tribute to her ‘mammina’.

Ivana Portelli said she and her mother, Miriam Pace, 54, “had so many more things to do together” and that she would love her “forever”.

“My mammina. Never in a hundred years did I think I would have to say goodbye so quickly,” she wrote on Facebook.

In her post, Ivana announced that there would be a memorial to her mother at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Sanctuary, Valletta at 2pm on Thursday to “celebrate the beauty” of her mother’s life. 

Miriam and her husband Carmel. Photo: Facebook

The mother-of-two was killed on Monday when her home on Triq Joseph Abela Scolaro collapsed as work was being carried out at a site next door. Police were called to the scene around 2.15pm and a body was recovered around eight hours later.

Miriam has been remembered as a devout Catholic, who was particularly active within the Church through the Tal-Karmnu community in Valletta. 

Family friend Claudio Grech described the victim and her husband, Carmel, as "upstanding, hard-working and conscientious people who care about others with a very strong sense of civic responsibility".

He added: "The anger grows when one sees that this was completely avoidable but, dismally, is a stark reflection of the throwaway culture that is ingraining itself in our society."

Carmel Pace meets with Prime Minister Robert Abela after his home collapsed on Monday. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Catholic youth charity ĊAMYouths, of which Ivana is a member, are collecting donations via bank transfer, Revolut and text on behalf of the family. Ħamrun council is also collecting money.

Anyone wishing to donate money to the family can do so via: 

Bank Account Holder Name: CAMYouths
IBAN: MT16VALL22013000000040020040990
BIC/SWIFT: VALLMTMT
Transfer Reference: CY4Pace

Name of Organisation:
ĊAMYouths (VO/0396)
Address of Organisation:
Dar CAMYouths, Emmanuele Vitale
Street, Rabat RBT2020
Email address: accounts@camyouths.com

Donations to IBAN account can also be sent through the Revolut app,
Please see following links for instructions;
Step 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF15_CpovSo
Step 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7LW7USDw9k

Donations can also be sent by SMS to the following numbers:
5061 8940 – € 6.99
5061 9236 – € 11.65

OR

50003830382
MT60VALL22013000000050003830382
VALLMTMT