The death of 19-year-old Jeanette Mifsud, who fell off a Valletta bastion near the Mediterranean Conference Centre early in the morning of 1 January this year, was “an accident”, a magisterial inquiry has concluded.

Internal Affairs and Justice Minister Tonio Borg said this yesterday during the morning parliamentary session that discussed the budget 2007 estimates for the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry.

“Furthermore, the permit for the party was issued by the police and neither the organisers of the party nor the owners of the Mediterranean Conference Centre are responsible for what happened,” Dr Borg added.

The incident took place at around 2am, when the second-year university student from Dingli, who was in the company of a number of her friends, reportedly went out for a breath of fresh air after feeling unwell at the party.

She lost her balance as she was on the bastions in Mediterranean Street in Valletta. Her body was later retrieved from the area known as Taht Iz-Ziemel. According to the autopsy, Jeanette Mifsud died on the spot as a result of “severe head injuries”.

The magisterial inquiry was led by Dr Lawrence Quintano.