A farmer has described having to watch on helplessly as his livelihood went up in flames following the Dwejra fireworks factory explosion.

Bartolomeo Gauci says he lost thousands of euros after the blast turned his wheat fields from gold to black on Saturday afternoon.

As fireworks enthusiasts counted their blessings for averting tragedy in the explosion, Gauci has been left tallying up his losses.

He told Times of Malta how he was working in his garage, located 130 metres away from the factory, at around 3.30pm, when he heard the first explosion.

“I ran out of the garage to see what happened, as this is not the first time a small firework would go off in my field and I would quickly put out the fire but this time it was different,” Gauci said.

“When I ran out of my garage, that’s when I saw the huge explosion. Then, there was another blast and, before I knew it, there was a large fire and all I could do was run away.”

From gold to black, the destroyed crop of wheat. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The fire from the explosion devastated eight acres of his land containing wheat and two mature olive trees.

However, he remains thankful that all 11 people working on the site outside Mosta survived, three of whom suffered slight injuries.

“Yes, my work is gone and I now have to clear up these fields but I am grateful no one is hurt,” he said.

“Wheat can grow back next time... but you only have one life.”

He said that he will now wait to be compensated by the 15 August society fireworks factory for the damage to his fields.

The fortified wall of the fireworks factory's storage facility backs on to a farmer's field of wheat. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

“If there were proper safety measures, the factory would not be in the state it is now and my fields would not be burned,” the 49-year-old said.

A magisterial inquiry is under way to establish the cause of the blast with initial investigations suggesting the pyrotechnics were in the open to dry as part of the production process when they caught fire.

Gauci believes new fireworks factories should not be built next to agricultural or environmental land, to reduce such mishaps.

“In Malta, almost every fireworks factory is near agricultural fields or environmental land,” he said.

“Ideally, such factories are far away from people so if such accidents happen no one is hurt and farmers do not risk losing their produce,” he said.

Gauci also suggested that, following accidents at fireworks factories, compensation should go towards sustaining the farmers who must take on the burden of these damages.

The same factory was destroyed in August 2010 in three huge blasts that claimed one victim. Following that explosion, the factory was rebuilt and equipped with several safety features.

Gauci said the 2010 explosion had caused even more damage to his property and belongings.

“A van and mechanical equipment were damaged by that explosion,” he said.

“My own property was also damaged by the blast and, at the time, I was compensated, so now I just have to wait and, hopefully, be compensated for my loss.