Explosion near Malta airport (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
An explosion has left bystanders shaken near Malta International Airport and a nearby village.
Explosion outside Malta airport. Strangely followed by fireworks within the cloud. Very very weird. #maltaairportpic.twitter.com/0hjCKNyRm3
— Matt Broughton (@TheWaster) October 30, 2016
The blast took place at about 4:20pm local time, just outside the airport and is thought to have come from a fireworks factory in the vicinity of Gudja, a nearby village. Gudja is currently celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Consolation, or Tac-Cintura, which takes place on the last Sunday of October.
“It was a powerful explosion followed by a number of smaller ones, the big one felt like an earthquake,” a local resident told the Times of Malta.
Huge explosion im Gudja Malta fireworks factory just as we drove past 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/OagsZvAbbX
— Japs (@bobmarleycsc) October 30, 2016
“We were passing by in my car with all the windows closed and the blast literally shook my car heavily,” another local told the Times.
#Malta havaalanı yakınında sağlam bir gürültü koparan bir patlama oldu, bütün bina sallandı. Ne olduğunu anlayamadık pic.twitter.com/GTCSiuzBgV
— Sinem Yöndem (@sinemyondem) October 30, 2016
The investigation is still ongoing, but the blast appears to have come from a container full of fireworks.
FILMAT: jisplodi post fejn jinħażen in-nar fil-Gudja - https://t.co/0LS2LZJcpVpic.twitter.com/S5LtL3n0fb
— Television Malta (@TelevisionMalta) October 30, 2016
READ MORE: Dashcam captures last seconds of Malta plane before deadly crash (VIDEO)
Witnesses report feeling the explosion from outside Gudja parish church, and others say they heard it as far away as Lija, in central Malta. Emergency services are at the scene, but so far there have been no reports of deaths or injuries. Everyone on-site was accounted for, although two people were treated for anxiety at a local health centre.
A number of flights from the airport have been delayed, though it is unclear whether this is related to the blast.
