Updated 5pm with contractor comment
Shocking footage has emerged of a construction worker swinging perilously in a platform dangling from a crane in Sliema on Thursday afternoon.
The incident took place in the Tigné area, where several high-rise developments are underway and footage shows the construction platform swinging in the wind against dense clouds.
A storm on Thursday saw heavy rain and lightning.
The platform was later lowered onto an area located close to the Sliema football grounds, according to the person who shot the footage from her workplace window.
"I was talking with one of my colleagues, and suddenly heard them say 'Oh my, that's crazy,'" she said.
"We looked out of the window and saw the man going down from the crane, flying side-to-side because of the wind... that guy definitely has courage to do that job."
Yesterday, Malta experienced a thunderstorm that saw around 40 lightning strikes per minute, according to the Maltese Islands Weather Facebook page.
Windspeeds yesterday ranged from force two to force four, according to a forecast published on the same page on Wednesday.
On Friday afternoon, it emerged the incident took place on the construction site for the redevelopment of the Fortina Hotel managed by Fortina Investments Limited, with works being undertaken by Turkish company Senyuva Aluminium Facade Systems Limited.
When contacted, a Senyuva employee confirmed the company had been working on the construction at the time of the incident, but insisted the site was safe.
“We have health and safety consultants there every day telling our workers if it is safe to work,” the employee said, but admitted he was “not sure” if a consultant was present that day and would check.
“We will be informing our team to be careful in windy conditions in the future,” he said.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) said in a statement that it could not comment on videos that were not sent directly to it "by a natural person as it cannot ascertain when the unsafe act happened to allow adequate enforcement action by OHSA."
It said anyone who witnesses unsafe work practices should contact them.
However, it said that tower cranes should not be operated in severe weather conditions.
According to work equipment regulations, temporary work at a height may be carried out "only when the weather conditions do not jeopardise the safety and health of workers".