Heavy machinery blamed for Gżira scaffolding collapse

Updated 3.30pm - road re-opened

Investigations are underway after scaffolding outside a construction site in Gżira collapsed, with the scaffolding company blaming heavy machinery on site for bringing the structure down.

Scaffolding set up at the site on Reggie Miller Street crashed down on Friday morning, narrowly missing at least two vehicles.

The police said no one was injured in the accident at around 9.30am.

Footage obtained by Times of Malta shows the moment the scaffolding came crashing down, missing at least one car by milliseconds. 

Civil Protection Department and Building and Construction Authority officials went immediately to the construction site.

Photo: Jonathan Borg

Contacted for comment, developer Alan Bonnici said: “We’re in the middle of solving this problem".

"The important thing is that no one got hurt," he said, before hanging up.

Photo: Jonathan Borg

A spokesperson for SSL Scafolding told Times of Malta that they had set up the structure in the correct manner. 

The spokesperson, who declined to provide his name, said he was on site when the structure was set up. The company had made sure the scaffolding had additional poles for increased stability.

“The scaffolding was set up and attached according to set standards. The footage clearly shows that the hydraulic breaker [heavy machinery with a jackhammer attachment] caused the collapse,” he added.

In a statement, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and the BCA said they were investigating the incident.

They added that the contractor and the developer had obtained the necessary permits for the works.

Just after 3pm the scaffolding debris was cleared away and the road re-opened for traffic. A fence was erected in front of the construction site and the permits re-attached to the new fence. 

By 3pm the scaffolding had been cleared away and a new fence erected at the construction site.

Bonnici is demolishing an existing apartment block named Christina Flats, excavating an underground level and building 12 overlying apartments and a penthouse.

The project got the green light in February 2025 and clearance to carry out works in January of this year.

Photo: Jonathan Borg