Police investigating the fatal Ħamrun building collapse are building a criminal case against multiple people involved in the neighbouring excavation site but say it may be weeks or even months until anyone is charged in court.

Sources involved in the investigation into the collapse of a family home last Monday, told Times of Malta that lengthy expert technical reports have been commissioned to establish exactly how and why the building had collapsed. 

These reports, the sources said, had been commissioned by inquiring magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, and had started on Wednesday with a number of site visits.

The consensus among investigators was that the magisterial inquiry should be concluded before proceeding with court action against anyone involved.  

While magisterial inquiries have been known to take several months and even years in the past, the police sources said the magistrate had fast-tracked the proceedings as the government mounted pressure for “closure” on the case.

Police said they too had been working around the clock after being told that the Office of the Prime Minister “expects results” on the case as soon as possible.

Miriam Pace, a 54-year-old mother of two, was found dead by rescuers after hours of searching through the debris. The tragic death has caused an uproar with many saying the construction sector was being allowed to operate outside the law.

The second protest in under a week was held in Ħamrun on Saturday, with hundreds marching to the site of the building collapse to demand justice for Pace and a reining in of excavation and construction works.

Meanwhile, the government has announced that a review of the rules and safeguards in excavation works is being conducted by a four-person expert panel lead by a retired judge.

The rules were already revised by the government just nine months ago, after a string of similar building collapses next to excavation sites last year.

Six people have been arrested by the police in connection with the incident, all of whom are connected to the neighbouring excavation site. 

Those arrested are the project’s architect, the site technical officer, and a number of people linked to the site contractors.

These men have been in and out of police custody this past week, and police sources say they have been answering questions in hours-long interrogation as investigators build a case against them.

­On Thursday, Times of Malta reported that the people arrested have told the police that no digging was taking place on the neighbouring building site at the time of the collapse.

They insist the site was only being cleared of layers of soil and dust.

While police believe this to be true, they have also discovered specific machinery used for excavation on the site, including one piece of drilling equipment used to break up bedrock.