Naxxar fireworks factory: Second blast in eight years

The powerful explosion which obliterated a fireworks factory on the outskirts of Naxxar on Monday was not the first to hit the premises as a similar major incident had occurred in 2018.

Eight years ago, almost to the day, the Lourdes Fireworks Factory was rocked by a series of blasts which left two people seriously injured, one of whom later succumbed to his injuries.

Like on Monday, the 2018 incident sent plumes of smoke into the air and was heard by residents in neighbouring areas including Pembroke, Għargħur and St Paul’s Bay. Unlike the latest blast, that year’s explosion did not entirely destroy the factory but blew the roof off at least one room. The explosion yesterday appears to have obliterated the premises entirely, according to aerial footage of the site.

The findings of magisterial inquiries are not made public, so the cause of the blast six years ago remains unknown. However, Malta has seen regular firework factory disasters over the years and there seems to be reluctance to reform the industry.

In June 2022, a fireworks factory on the outskirts of Mosta went up in flames, leaving two men injured and sending shockwaves across the island. The blast was later attributed to a lethal combination of temperature, humidity and wind direction by a pyrotechnics expert.

Later that year, a man died and three were hospitalised when a fireworks factory in Kirkop exploded in two separate blasts, the second powerful enough to be detected by seismic activity monitoring devices used to measure earthquakes.

The man killed in the Kirkop explosion, 64-year-old Leonard Camilleri, had survived a similar blast a decade earlier, when an explosion took place in a small adjacent room used for preparing fireworks.

Firework factory disasters were occurring regularly in the preceding years, culminating in a 2010 tragedy at the Farrugia Brothers Factory in Għarb, when three people lost their lives.

An independent report into the 2010 incident was published the following year by a commission headed by former University of Malta rector Alfred Vella. It recommended an urgent ban on dangerous chemical mixtures, testing centres for chemicals used in fireworks and improvements to transport vehicles.

Unlike the 2018 explosion, yesterday’s appears to have completely destroyed the factory.

Expert report

It followed expert reports in 2007 and 2005, the latter of which was never released by the government of the day. The 2007 report notably echoed recommendations by the report two years earlier, which were never implemented.

New firework rules were introduced in 2014, including the commission’s proposed ban on mixtures combining potassium chlorate and metals.

Limits on quantities of certain chemicals used in firework production were also included, as was the requirement for manufacturers to submit written declarations about the purity of the main material used and mandatory €300,000 insurance cover for factories.

The regulations fell short of endorsing the full recommendations of the board, however, such as the requirement for chemical testing centres.

Meanwhile, an analysis of 99 accidents between 1980 and 2010, carried out by the commission, revealed that firework accidents had increased in frequency over the years, with deaths and injuries peaking in 2005.

The analysis found that while the UK recorded a factory incident rate of 0.0001 per year, equivalent to one every 250 years for Malta taking country sizes into account, Malta recorded an average 2.3 accidents per year.