The opposition will continue to insist that a public inquiry should be held into the collapse of a Corradino building on December 3 which cost the life of Jean Paul Sofia, Bernard Grech said on Thursday. 

Speaking outside the collapsed building, he said that three months since the tragic accident that took the 20-year-old's life, the government was still resisting the request. 

"We will continue putting pressure for the government to do what is just and right," the Opposition leader said. 

“Society needs to send a clear message that something as serious and tragic as this cannot be ignored.”  

Sofia was the only fatality after the sudden collapse. Five workers were rescued from the rubble, three of them seriously injured. 

Calls for a public inquiry from the opposition and Jean Paul’s mother, have been ignored.  

A section of the Corradino building seen after the December 3 collapse.

Asked recently in parliament whether a public inquiry would be launched, prime minister Robert Abela skirted the question saying there was an ongoing magisterial inquiry and investigations by other authorities were also underway. 

 “If we really want justice, the work of these institutions should be allowed to be done in serenity,” Abela had told parliament. 

Grech said he met Jean Paul's parents, Isabelle and John, on Wednesday and they expressed their disappointment at the state of affairs. They do not feel that they are getting replies to their pleas, he said. 

"The whole truth needs to emerge and it is only through a public inquiry that this can happen, identifying shortcomings so that we can possibly avoid similar tragedies in the future," he said.

Grech reiterated the opposition's plan to move a motion in parliament for an inquiry to be held. He had first announced the opposition's intention on February 21.

The press conference was also addressed by PN MPs Jerome Caruana Cilia and Stanley Zammit. 

Caruana Cilia said that despite calls for a public inquiry, the government remained hard-headed. 

"We cannot allow Jean Paul to become a statistic.  

Zammit spoke about "half baked amendments" to the criminal code presented in parliament recently and stressed that any licencing of contractors had to follow a rigorous process.