A one-year-old boy has been seriously hurt in a fall from a balcony in Msida on Monday morning.

The child fell two storeys from the property on Triq Santa Venera at around 8am.

“I heard a thud and turned to see a child on the ground," a shocked construction worker carrying out road works on the street told Times of Malta.

"There was a crack in his head and we immediately called an ambulance," he added.

The boy fell from this balcony in an apartment in Msida. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The balcony from where the child fell had a green mesh erected behind the railings.

Police said the boy, who will soon turn two, was treated by a medical team onsite. He was taken to Mater Dei hospital, where his injuries were certified as serious. 

The witness said the boy's father was on the scene shortly after the fall. 

“A few minutes later his father came down the stairs and held him until help arrived,"he said.

"It seemed like the mother wasn’t here and the father looked extremely upset.”

Neighbours said the family was not local.

Magistrate Lara Lanfranco has begun an inquiry into the incident and police investigations are ongoing.