CCTV footage obtained by Times of Malta shows the moment a family home in Ħamrun collapsed, burying a woman underneath the rubble. 

The collapse which happened at around 2pm on Monday, took the life of 54-year-old mother of two Miriam Pace, who was at home when the building came crashing down onto an underlying car showroom.

In CCTV footage, the Pace family home can be seen crumbling into the excavation site next door. A giant plume of smoke rises as the debris falls.

Construction works were under way next door at the time. That project is led by developer Malcolm Mallia, who sits on the Malta Developers Association council. Mallia was suspended by the MDA on Monday, pending an investigation.

Four people involved in that project, to build a complex with 59 garages, four shops and overlying apartments on four floors, were held by the police overnight.  

Police sources say they believe the building collapse was caused by excavation happening next door. The incident is the latest in a spate of construction-related collapses that happened last year. 

Sources told Times of Malta on Tuesday that the Ħamrun district inspector was investigating possible criminal action, including negligence, that may have caused the family home to collapse. 

Witnesses say they heard a sound "like an earthquake" at around 2.15pm on Monday and saw a large dust cloud rising from the terraced house. Other said the incident felt like a bomb had gone off in the normally quiet residential area. 

As an outpouring of grief and anger flooded social media following news of Pace’s death, civil society groups prepared for a silent protest to be held on Tuesday at 7pm near the site of the tragedy.