UK family was on final hours of holiday when Ramla Bay tragedy struck

A mother was on Ramla beach with her two young children as her 11-year-old son drowned and her husband went missing on Monday afternoon.

Details of the tragedy emerged on Tuesday as rescuers continued an intensive search for the 37-year-old man.

The British family of Pakistani origin was enjoying the final hours of a Malta holiday when the tragedy struck.  

Other family members are understood to have flown out to Malta on Tuesday to support them.

The police were called to the scene at around 1.15 pm and the Armed Forces and Civil Protection Department began an intensive search by boat and helicopter. 

The boy was pulled out of the rough sea shortly after but efforts to save his life were unsuccessful and he was declared dead at Gozo hospital.

The Meteorological Office had issued a warning about strong north-west winds hitting Malta on Monday.  

It was the second drowning in Ramla Bay in a month, after a 43-year-old Polish man died there on October 8.

This year has seen an unusually high number of drownings with 16 incidents recorded so far, compared to 14 in all of 2024. 

Most of the victims drowned at sea, 13 in total, and of those, six were on holiday in Malta at the time. 

In April, a 76-year-old Irish tourist died off St Julian's, at Xatt is-Sajjieda. In July, Maltese-Australian Salvu Vella, died when he got into difficulties at Ħondoq Bay in Gozo.

In August, an Italian man died after getting into difficulty at Comino's Blue Lagoon. A month later, a UK national died while swimming in the same place. 

The deathtoll of drownings has also included two other children, a toddler and a six-year-old boy, who both died in swimming pools over the summer.