The daughter of a woman killed in a building collapse 16 years ago experienced a rush of distressing memories last week. 

The death of mother and wife Miriam Pace, who was buried in a pile of rubble in her own home last week, has brought back painful memories for Diane Mulè Stagno, who lost her mother in a similar tragedy in St Paul’s Bay, 16 years ago.

“This should have never happened. It’s so painful to see it happening again,” said Diane, 47.

“In 16 years, people should have learnt the lesson – if not from their own mistakes, from the mistakes of others. We are choosing not to learn. This is horrendous.”

On June 3, 2004, Diane’s mother, 60-year-old Maria Dolores Zarb, was giving a Maltese language lesson to Russian Nadya Vavilova, 24, in her apartment in St Paul’s Bay – Diane’s childhood home.

The block, adjacent to a construction site, crumbled when a worker cut through the bearing concrete surface of the building.

The collapse killed them both.

Maria Dolores Zarb (left, inset) was giving a Maltese language lesson to Nadya Vavilova (right, inset) in her apartment when the building collapsed, killing them both.

Diane had picked up her daughter Miriana, then two and half, from the house at 1.30pm after work. A couple of hours later, the building gave way.

For Diane, the case was agonisingly similar to Monday week’s building collapse in Ħamrun that claimed the life of 54-year-old Miriam Pace.

“This week was very difficult. It brought back all those emotions and distressing memories from 16 years ago. My heart goes out to the family of this woman. I know and can relate to what they are going through,” she says.

Apart from the loss of a mother and grandmother, Diane and her family had to deal with court delays – the appeal is still pending.

“If I could address the court authorities, I’d say that these matters should not take long. They put your life on hold. I felt guilty I was not the mother I wanted to be for my daughter, who is now 18, since my attention was often focused and diverted on the court case that dragged out,” she says.

But, to Diane, the most painful part is the fact that nothing changed. Initially, there was awareness and people were being more careful but this did not last long. Things escalated last year when a series of buildings collapsed, spurring new construction regulations.

“After the criminal judgment, I had the hope things would change. But now I see no court judgment or law that can change things. Only people can. It has to come from within us.

“A law does not give you a moral compass. What a law should do is cater for different scenarios, avoid loopholes and ensure there are consequences and responsibilities. The law and its procedures should not serve as an expedient to delay justice.

“Personal and institutional responsibility are supposed to be the basic tenets as well as hallmarks of an evolved human society, which should differ from the law of the jungle,” she says.

“Court delays put your life on hold”

June 3, 2004: Maria Dolores Zarb and Nadya Vavilova die when the St Paul’s Bay apartment they are in collapses.

June 29, 2005: Plot owner Paul Demicoli, Paul Magro (as director of the contracting company) and employee Kevin Bonnici are charged with manslaughter. They plead not guilty.

October 22, 2009: Demicoli is sentenced to three years in jail and Bonnici for 18 months for involuntary homicide. It emerges that Bonnici warned the owner that works did not conform to regulations. Magro is cleared after the court hears he refused to carry out works on the site. Demicoli and Bonnici appeal.

January 4, 2010: Demicoli files a constitutional application against the social policy minister, his permanent secretary and the attorney general in the First Fall of the Civil Court. He claims they went beyond the powers granted in the Occupational Health and Safety Authority Act by issuing a legal notice that included site owners within the definition of the word “client”. The criminal appeal is put on hold pending the outcome of the civil case.

January 16, 2018: The civil court upholds Demicoli’s claim since the main law explicitly excludes property owners and occupants, except in particular circumstances. The social policy minister, his permanent secretary and the attorney general appeal the decision.

July 12, 2019: The Court of Appeal confirms the civil judgment and notes that property owners and occupants hold some form of responsibility if they provide faulty equipment to workers. The court does not decide on whether or not Demicoli was impacted by the regulations.