Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/582103
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 OCTOBER 2015 3 MARTINA BORG CONSUMER affairs minister Helena Dalli has been entrusted with carrying out a review of the legislation and regulations govern- ing safety at public events. In a tweet, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that he had asked Dalli to carry out the review during Tuesday morning's Cabinet meeting. The move comes in the aftermath of the Paqpaqli ghall- Istrina supercar crash that injured 26 on Sunday. Questions have been asked of the level of safety at the Malta airport runway during the charity event that raised money for the Malta Community Chest Fund: when the Porsche owner Paul Bailey lost control of his supercar and crashed it right through plastic barriers that had no form of resistance. The Times reported that liabil- ity for damages incurred during the event would be hard to claim for victims of Sunday's incident, because the event was organised by volunteers raising funds for the Malta Community Chest Fund, and the Office of the President enjoys immunity from civil and criminal prosecution. But speaking to MaltaToday justice minister Owen Bonnici refused to say whether or not the Office of the President of the Re- public would be held accountable for the accident. "I think it would be premature to speculate on the matter before the magisterial inquiry is concluded," Bonnici said yesterday afternoon. Asked whether the Office of the president would be exempt from responsibility of the tragedy, Bon- nici reiterated that he thought it would be best to allow the inquiry to make the necessary conclusions rather than make hasty conclu- sions based on speculations. Bonnici also expressed his soli- darity to those injured during the event and added that he was pleased to hear that some of the victims' situations had improved. Addressing the same press con- ference, home affairs minister Carmelo Abela said that looking into better practices and guide- lines for security at public events would be welcome. "I think we should always im- prove on current practises," he said, adding that he couldn't com- ment on last Sunday's tragic event at charity car show Paqpaqli ghall- Istrina. The event, organised by the Mal- ta Community Chest Fund ended with 26 people being run over by a Porsche supercar. Questions have since risen about the safety and security precautions taken at the event after Porsche owner Paul Bailey lost control of his supercar, and crashed right through plastic barriers that had no form of resist- ance. Asked whether it would be ad- visable to include police forces in the preparation for such big-scale public events, Abela said that dis- cussions with various stakeholders would be necessary to determine which authority should be respon- sible for public events of a certain standing and importance. News DIDO AND AENEAS AN OPERA BY HENRY PURCELL A TALE OF LOVE TOUCHED BY THE WHIMS OF THE GODS A VALLETTA 2018 AND TEATRU MANOEL COLLABORATION 9 11 OCTOBER 2015 20:00HRS TEATRU MANOEL TEATRU MANOEL YOUTH OPERA VALLETTA INTERNATIONAL BAROQUE ENSEMBLE DIRECTOR: JONATHAN COCKER CONDUCTOR: ALICE FARNHAM WWW.TEATRUMANOEL.COM.MT E: BOOKINGS@TEATRUMANOEL.COM.MT T: 2124 6389 Think Ahead. Bank Ahead. Muscat orders review of safety procedures in public events Justice minister Owen Bonnici says it would be "premature to speculate" whether the Office of the President of the Republic would be held liable for supercar crash that injured 26 on Sunday Mother, daughter out of intensive care THE six-year-old girl and her mother – an assistant head – injured during Sunday's su- percar crash have been moved out of the hospital's intensive therapy unit, after doctors confirmed that they are no longer in danger of dying on Tuesday. A total of 10 patients remain in hospital following injuries sustained during the Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina tragic incident. Two others remain in ITU. President's Office orders volunteers to remain silent Paqpaq host 'silent' under President's instructions over supercar crash MATTHEW VELLA MIRIAM DALLI THE Office of the President of the Republic has not denied that it has instructed volunteers in- volved in the organisation of the charity event in which a supercar crash injured 26 spectators on Sunday to refrain from talking to the press. "It is absolutely critical that the Office of the President insures that the process of the Magiste- rial Inquiry is fully respected and as such while this respect may be inconvenient to some, the fact remains that everyone must al- low the process to take place in a serene way," San Anton told Mal- taToday. The host of TV show Paqpaq, Tonio Darmanin, has said he will not comment on the events of Sunday 4 October where a char- ity event he hosted for the Malta Community Chest Fund ended with 26 people being run over by a Porsche supercar. Darmanin's only comment was released on his Facebook wall, saying he would not comment due to a magisterial inquiry being underway. He also said that he was under instruction of the office of the President of the Republic, which runs the MCCF charity. "In line with instructions issued by the Office of the President, I cannot comment upon the events that took place [Sunday] until the magisterial inquiry takes its due course," Darmanin said. It is the Office of the President of the Republic that organised the charity event through the help of volunteers who use the name of the Paqpaq TV show presented by Darmanin. The event is branded 'Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina'. "I wish however to express my personal devastation that an event intended to bring joy and help to others took the turn it did. I express my sincere concern and solidarity with each injured per- son, their families and friends, and am thankful to those who genuinely share in the wish for everyone's full recovery. I also thank all those involved in assist- ing the injured for their sterling work." Darmanin said Monday's edi- tion of his car show Paqpaq, that was meant to feature Sunday's event, will not be broadcast. A former professional F3 driver told the Times that inadequate crash barriers and poor position- ing of a chicane on the track could have been major contributing factors in Sunday's crash. "From what I have seen of the footage, the placement of the chicane was a fundamental error as the exit seems to push a car at speed to- wards the grass," Maltese-Aus- tralian driver Damien Digby said. On Facebook few people seem to have shown any concern over the Paqpaqli's organisers lack of safety procedures. Indeed lawyer Georg Sapiano, a former PN can- didate and broadcaster, posted questions about the extent of safe- ty planning on Tonio Darmanin's Facebook wall to that effect. "I do not wish to comment or express an opinion without know- ing the facts. Instead, I'd like to ask these questions: was the steel crash barrier the only thing sepa- rating the crowd from the track? Were there piles of tyres to ab- sorb any impact? Was the crash barrier fixed or simply placed? Did anybody go through the mo- tions of a worst-case scenario? If the answers to the above suggest, as it seems, a lapse of logical and safe planning then this is a trage- dy that could have been avoided."