Updated: 8.30pm

An onlooker has been left in shock after witnessing a woman she had spoken to minutes before being dragged out by a strong wave to her death.

The victim, a Filipino national, 43, was among four foreign women pulled out into the rough waters off Sliema when a huge wave hit the shore. She was smacked against the rocks and was unconscious when she was rescued. She died at hospital a few hours later.

Majelle Legros, a Canadian who had arrived in Malta the night before, said the women left their belongings on the ledge at the back of Surfside restaurant where she was sitting and walked down by the rocks to take photos.

“The woman who died told me hello and smiled. There were a group of five who didn’t know each other but were just taking it in turns to take photos of each other,” she said.

“They assumed they were safe but then I saw the big wave coming in behind them and it took them down and then pulled them out,” she said.

The wave was so high that despite being higher up on the ledge Legross got drenched, as did the belongings of the women.

Legros explained that at that point she began to scream to people along the promenade to call for help.

In the meantime, she saw one woman come ashore herself, and the other two helped up by passers-by.

“They were all bloodied from being hit against the rocks,” she explained.

The waves took the fourth woman, who eventually died, much further out, she said, reeling from shock.  Legros has decided to cut her holiday short and head back home after the horrific experience.

The police said that apart from the victim, the other women dragged out by the waves and later rescued were a 23-year-old from France, a 31-year-old Italian and a 36-year-old Georgian. 

They were slightly injured and treated in hospital.  

Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo is holding an inquiry. A police investigation is ongoing.