A farmer has told of getting buried waist-deep in rubble and praying for the strength to pull himself out after the Kirkop fireworks factory exploded next to his field last November.

“I regained consciousness after a few seconds and I could see the fiery explosion [above me],” Eugenio Bugeja, 64, told Times of Malta yesterday.

“I prayed to Santa Katerina to give me strength to remove the rubble and see my grandchildren again,” the Żurrieq native and St Catherine devotee said.

“An unnatural strength helped me pull myself out.”

Bugeja was tending to his chickens and rabbits when the San Ġużepp fireworks factory on Triq Ħal Far was rocked by a series of explosions on November 26 at around 7am.

The blasts killed Leonard Camilleri, 64, a keen fireworks enthusiast who had served as the factory’s licensee for several years.

The explosion also dropped the wall that served as a border between Bugeja’s field and the factory. He had been standing right next to it.

After he managed to move the heavy stones that lay on top of him, he ran to an adjacent field to escape from the danger as the explosions continued, destroying much of his beloved field and produce.

Full of blood – but mostly from the animals that had been killed – he was taken to hospital suffering minor injuries.

A piece of metal is lodged in his skin and he is waiting for an operation to have it removed. 

Eugenio Bugeja’s field suffered extensive damage in the blast. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Son and grandson were lucky not to be at the farm

He said his son Kyle and his four-year-old grandson should have been at the farm collecting what remained of the potato harvest. But thankfully, an extra 30 minutes in bed meant they were late.

“It just so happened that it took my son a while to get out of bed,” he said, standing at the exact spot where he had been buried in the debris.

“They would otherwise have been at the farm at the time of the blast.”

Instead, they were getting dressed when they heard a loud explosion. It was so loud that his son thought it was the nearer Mqabba fireworks factory that had exploded.

But his wife implored him to rush to his father’s field, Bugeja said. 

Another farmer, Gaetano Borg, 74, was also in his field at the time of the explosion.

“I don’t even want to dream about it or remember it,” he said as he recalled the scene.

'My children and I haven't sown anything since out of fear'

Large pieces of debris from a container that contained explosives rained down on his field.

“Any piece of falling sheet metal would have gone right through me,” he said as he stood at the perimeter of his field about 100 metres away from the factory. 

“My children and I haven’t sown anything since, out of fear. Another farmer’s horse was killed in the blast,” Borg added.

His neighbour farmer Bugeja takes pride in feeding his wife, four children and six grandchildren from his own field, where he grows potatoes, onions, garlic and other vegetables.

Those crops were obliterated in the blast.

He also reared chicken, turkeys and some 400 rabbits – and most also perished in the explosion, Bugeja said.

“We only have my pension to sustain ourselves now, which is not nearly enough.”

Also destroyed were a banana tree and mature olive trees, where his six grandchildren, all under nine years old, would play.

Also destroyed were a banana tree and mature olive trees, where his six grandchildren, all under nine years old, would play. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Government funds for factory but farmers promised nothing

His truck was a total loss, buried under the debris of a rubble wall on the perimeter that also tumbled down.

Farmers and landowners from the area have gathered 77 signatures calling for a stop to the reconstruction of the fireworks factory. Despite an ongoing magisterial inquiry, the factory started to be rebuilt on Boxing Day, Bugeja said, claiming this was being done without the proper permits.

However, his request for an injunction was quashed last Friday, allowing the works to continue so long as fireworks are not stored in the rebuilt areas.

To add insult to injury, on Wednesday the minister for voluntary organisations, Julia Farrugia Portelli, announced that “the government will be helping to rebuild the San Ġużepp fireworks factory”.

In Malta we’ve come to care more about tourism than Maltese people. We prioritise money and votes- Kyle Bugeja

Sources said the factory management are set to be granted €10,000 from NGO contingency funds to clear the mess left behind when the factory exploded.

Yet, Bugeja and other farmers affected by the blast have not been promised anything.

“In Malta we’ve come to care more about tourism than Maltese people. We prioritise money and votes,” Kyle Bugeja said.

“They (the government) would rather lose six votes but gain votes from those in the fireworks factory,” he said.