A rescue worker recalled how Jean Paul Sofia’s phone rang when he dialled the number after spotting the victim’s body, partly buried beneath the rubble of the large Corradino factory that collapsed last December. 

The Civil Protection officer recalled the “massive scene” that met his eyes that day when he rushed to the site of the collapse at the Corradino Industrial Estate, being among the first to get there from his Xemxija post. 

“It was a scene that you don’t come across every day,” said David Cassar when testifying in the compilation of evidence against developers Matthew Schembri and Kurt Buhagiar, project architect Adriana Zammit and contractors Milomar and Dijana Jovicevic.

All five are pleading not guilty to the involuntary murder of the 20-year-old youth as well as causing grievous injuries to four workers who were at the construction site at the time when the brick structure, which was meant to be a furniture factory, collapsed in a domino-like effect. 

Upon arrival, the rescue officer led his team through the first task of pulling out one of the workers who was trapped in freshly laid concrete.

The man’s legs were trapped in the concrete among a tangle of iron rods and although still conscious, the victim was in great pain and slightly aggressive.

Rescuers calmed him down, managed to pull him out and laid him on a stretcher.

At the time, the witness did not yet know how many other persons had to be rescued. 

After three other victims were rescued, CPD workers continued to remove rubble both manually as well as with the help of machinery, using equipment to locate the missing person, identified as Sofia. 

The witness was present when rescuers finally spotted a pair of legs beneath the rubble.

Peering down the one-storey drop, Cassar dialled the victim’s mobile number and out of the rubble, a phone rang. 

Asked by his colleagues whether he felt comfortable with venturing down into the dangerous space, the officer had answered “yes,” proceeding down a ladder to reach Sofia. 

The victim’s body was partly trapped and they had to remove the rubble very carefully. 

Jean Paul Sofia. Photo: Facebook

Another person involved in the risky operation from start to finish was architect Graham Attard who works at the Civil Protection Department, assisting in cases of collapse. 

He testified how that December 3 morning while off-duty, he happened to be in Cospicua when he received news of the incident and was at the site within minutes, being among the first to get there and the last to leave. 

The first part of the rescue was a “snatch” operation to get the first four workers out of the collapsed structure. 

They were then told that a fifth person was still missing. 

A rescue dog and equipment were used to help locate the victim but his presence was confirmed “100%” through CCTV footage that showed Sofia entering the building a few minutes before it collapsed. 

He hadn’t been carrying any equipment and that indicated that he was going in for something but not to work onsite, explained the architect. 

Rescuers were also told that Sofia had likely gotten to the site in a van that was parked outside. 

Attard sought the opinion of university professor Alex Torpiano and consulted plans of the factory as he worked to locate the victim in the dangerously unstable site. 

The core, namely the shaft housing the stairs and lift, was still standing, being the strongest but also the most dangerous part. 

There was a double wall leading to the core and some scaffolding against that wall.

The architect decided not to immediately remove the scaffolding propped up against that wall so as to provide some support.

“We found him [the victim] just outside the core,” recalled the architect.

Sofia was apparently on the way out when the building collapsed and ended up under “three storeys of rubble.”

That was the reason why his phone had no reception. 

“How come the other four workers were rescued within minutes?” asked parte civile lawyer Joe Giglio. 

Those had been working on the upper floor whereas Sofia was on the ground floor and ended up buried beneath that rubble, the architect replied.

There was a drop of five metres or so to get to the victim.

“I told them [rescue workers] that we were going to run a risk to get to him but we had to do it, even for the sake of his family and for closure too,” said Attard.

Civil protection officers had to make “difficult decisions” during the rescue, he added.

The case continues.

Inspectors Paul Camilleri and Antonello Magri are prosecuting.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Franco Debono and Jacob Magri are counsel to the developers.

Lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell is counsel to Zammit.

Lawyer Timothy Bartolo is counsel to the Jovicevic couple.