Updated 4.45pm, adds Liquigas statement

No one was injured when a gas tank exploded in an Attard front porch on Thursday.

The Police said that an officer on duty at Triq Żnuber heard an explosion at around 10.45pm.

He asked the Birkirkara district officers for assistance with getting people out of their homes. 

Around 200 people came out to see what had happened, including one man – who lives on the next street - who feared it might have been a bomb or gunfire.

“I was on my laptop working at around 10.45pm when I heard the explosion. I rushed outside and started checking the street. I knew quite quickly that it was gas related as you could smell it in the air. I was among the first 20 to arrive on the scene. The people who live in the maisonettes above the house had come out with their children who were in their pyjamas and some were even carrying babies in cots. A car parked in front of the house was damaged. After around five to ten minutes the police arrived as well as an ambulance from Mater Dei.”

The front porch before the explosion. Image capture from Google Maps

The road was also closed for traffic, while Civil Protection Department officers and a medical team rushed to the site.

No one was injured by the explosion.

A magisterial inquiry and a police investigation are underway. 

Liquigas statement

In a statement in the evening, Liquigas said it was carrying out the required technical assessment to investigate the cause and related circumstances of the incident.

The findings, it said, would be made public once all relevant facts were assessed.   
The company said it was collaborating fully with the magisterial inquiry, as well as with the court-appointed experts, and was being supported by its international partner Liquigas Italy.