A total of 13 people died in 2024 after falling from a height of at least one storey, four more than in 2023. 10 other people died in other, less common accidents.
Out of those 13, nine were 60+ in age, with at least 6 of these elderly victims being reported to have been carrying out work of some kind. Three of the 13 victims were Gozitan and three others were foreigners.
Additionally, 10 people lost their lives to other accidents in 2024; including 2 to extensive burns, 3 to electrocution and a further 2 to roof collapses.
14 February: American man dies in Grand Harbour
A 72-year-old American national fell off the docked cruise liner he was passenger on to hit the water of the Grand Harbour below. He was administered first-aid by a medical team and was hospitalised but passed away shortly after.
17 February: Safi man falls from balcony
A 79-year-old Safi man died after a one-storey fall from the balcony of his own residence in Zurrieq Road. He was certified dead on site.
24 February: Ghanaian male worker succumbs to injuries from two-storey fall
A 43-year-old man from Ghana sustained serious injuries following a two-storey fall in Marsa whilst working in the nearby industrial estate. Though quickly hospitalised, he passed away within 24-hours.
4 April: 70-year-old man plunges 3-storeys from the roof of his Zebbug residence
A 70-year-old man was certified dead on site despite the swift efforts of passers-by, including a doctor, in Triq Ġanni Bonniċi, Żebbuġ following a 3-storey drop from the roof of his own residence.
20 April: Bari Balla killed in roof collapse during renovations
A 51-year-old construction worker and father of 6, Bari Balla was found dead under the rubble following a ceiling collapsed in St Ignatius Street, Sliema during refurbishment works on a private residence. The victim was an Albanian national who resided in Zebbug. A colleague, also an Albanian national, also sustained slight injuries from the roof collapse but managed to emerge from the debris alone. A fundraiser was set up by the Albanian Community in Malta to repatriate his body.
26 April: Bull gores Nigerian in Gudja
A 54-year-old Nigerian man was attacked by a bull whilst tending to a herd of cows in the field of a farmhouse in Tarxien Road, Gudja. Though hospitalized, he passed away shortly after.
2 May: Man sustains critical injuries after falling off high wall
A man was seriously injured when he fell off a one and a half storey wall he was resting on in Dragonara Road, St Julian’s. He died shortly after.
9 May: 76-year-old man falls off ladder doing home renovation
A 76-year-old man from St Paul’s Bay sustained critical injuries leading to his death in hospital, after he lost his grip on a ladder in a private residence in Triq l-Awwista, Xemxija whilst carrying out some work.
13 May: Man electrocuted in Fgura
21-year-old Dylan Axiaq from Marsaskala was electrocuted while working at a residence in Mater Boni Consilii Street, Fgura residence. It was reported that Axiak was working from a cherry-picker and had a mishap with overhead mains cables. Social media exploded with tributes from family and friends following his passing.
17 May: 63-year-old Gozitan man falls down the stairs of his own residence
A 63-year-old man from Kercem sustained serious injuries on falling down the stairs of his home in Gamiem Street before dying in hospital the next day.
27 May: 76-year-old man found dead in dry reservoir
A 76-year-old Mqabba man was discovered dead at the bottom of a storey-high empty reservoir in Hal Farrug, limits of Siggiewi. It is believed he fell to his death.
23 June: 80-year-old man dies in explosion from gas leak
An 80-year-old man sustained life-threatening injuries in an explosion and blaze following a gas leak from a tank in a garage in Triq Qantar, Swieqi. The man suffered severe burns and was administered first-aid by a medical team who rushed on site alongside the Civil Protection Department before being hospitalized. He passed away shortly after.
27 June: Somali electrocuted on building site
A 31-year old male Somali national died from an electric shock whilst working on a building scaffolding, in Manwel Dimech Street, St Julian’s. The Qormi resident was quickly hospitalized, but he died some time later.
12 July: Gozitan man falls from ladder
A 57-year-old man from Fontana, Gozo was certified dead on site following a fall from a ladder leaning against a farmhouse in the limits of Rabat.
19 July: Woman crushed by falling rocks in Marsascala
22-year-old Mirabelle Falzon from Siggiewi sustained serious injuries following a rock fall from a cliff in the limits of Marsaskala at the Munxar area, off St Thomas Bay. Though hospitalized, she died shortly after. Her boyfriend, who was accompanying her at the time and was first to administer first aid, expressed his devastation on social media. Tributes also poured in from loved ones and INDIS Malta where Falzon worked.
3 August: Man dies in fall in lift shaft
Respected 64-year-old Robert Schembri, a government engineer and member of the BCA, from Santa Lucija, fell down a four-storey lift-shaft while working for relatives in Stella Maris Street, Sliema. It was reported that Schembri stepped into lift shaft, possibly unaware that the lift had descended to a lower floor. He received tributes from a number of ministers and the Chamber of Engineers.
10 August: 65-year-old man hits rocks in Bahar ic-Caghaq
A 65-year-old man from Paola died after slipping and falling a height at the White Rocks complex near Bahar ic-Caghaq. He was certified dead on site.
13 August: 60-year-old Gozitan man falls off roof into shaft
A 60-year-old man from Nadur, Gozo fell off the roof of his own residence in Duru Street to be later found in a shaft and certified dead on site.
14 August: Man electrocuted whilst washing vehicles
57-year-old Lawrence Piscopo from Hamrun was found dead in the common area of garages on Triq Anton Inglott, Msida. It was reported that Piscopo was washing vehicles in his garage when he received a deadly electric shock. Gratitude and last respects were shown by the Hamrun Parish of the Immaculate Conception where he had served as Chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council for the previous two years. Additionally, B4 Group, his last place of employment, closed its Mosta showroom on the day of his passing out of mourning.
16 August: Man dies in Gozo roof collapse
51-year-old Sammy Bartolo was working on a residence in Ghajnsielem prior to the roof he was on caving beneath his feet, resulting in an additional one-storey drop. He sustained critical injuries and was assisted by the Civil Protection Department before being taken to Gozo General Hospital prior to a transfer to Mater Dei where he died a week later.
4 September: Man succumbs to head injuries
23-year-old David Wellman sustained head injuries whilst working on his private property in Triq il-Witja, Tarxien. The Tarxien local was given first aid by a medical team and members of the Civil Protection Department before being taken to Mater Dei Hospital where he passed away shortly after.
8 November: Colombian man falls four-storeys from balcony
The 35-year-old man from Colombia fell from the balcony of a residence in Triq San Frangisk, San Gwann and was certified to be suffering from serious injuries by the medical team who attended the site. He was urgently hospitalized but died two days later.
18 November: Man dies following Delimara boat fire
Saliba, a 46-year-old Zurrieq resident, but Luqa local, and father of two sustained serious burns from a fire on a boat, half a mile offshore, near Delimara on the 6 November. Saliba was rescued from the sea near the boat by the Armed Forces of Malta and Civil Protection Department officers. He passed away in hospital 2 weeks later.