Twenty-six people were injured, five of them critical, after the driver of a white Porsche 918 supercar performing in a motor-show in aid of charity skidded and went out of control, crashing through the barriers and ending up in the crowd.
The accident happened during the annual Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina fund-raising campaign in aid of the Community Chest Fund.
The initial estimate was of 14 people who were injured, but the government first revised the number to 21 and later to 26.
In a statement issued at 4.30pm, the Ministry of Health initially said that 12 were receiving treatment at Mater Dei Hospital, three of whom were in critical condition. A further nine were being treated for minor injuries at the Paola Health Centre, the government said at the time.
In a press conference given later, at 6pm, the parliamentary secretary for health Chris Fearne said that the number of injured had reached 26, five of whom were critical. Three of them were undergoing surgery, while four were discharged after treatment.
A 6-year-old girl is among those fighting for her life.
The driver of the car was also grievously injured, Mr Fearne said.
The car is owned by Paul Bailey who, an article in The Telegraph reported last January, beat the world's wealthiest car collectors to become the first person to own the £3million "Holy Trinity" of hypercars. The cars in question, apart from the Porsche, are a McLaren P1 and a Ferrari LaFerrari. He was driving the car at the time of the accident.
Mater Dei declared a 'Major Incident Alert' and codctors and nurses who were off duty joined the complement of staff treating the injured.
The accident occurred at around 2pm and 11 ambulances were on scene. A helicopter was also deployed to the area to airlift some of the injured to hospital.
The police, on their Facebook page, asked motorists to avoid the areas of Hal Farrug, Luqa, Qormi in view of the traffic accident. "Drivers are to obey police orders who are in the area control traffic for ambulances to convey the injured persons to Mater Dei Hospital".
One of the Paqpaqli team members said the rest of the event was cancelled.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a tweet said President Marie Louise-Coleiro is on scene speaking with relatives and that he went to Mater Dei Hospital to visit the injured. The President visited hospital twice and in between returned to Hal Farrug to be as close to the people as possible, a spokeswoman said.
In a message on Net TV, Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil expressed his sorrow for the accident and praised the work being carried out by the hospital staff.
Speaking to the media, Mrs Coleiro Preca said that what was a happy event turned into a tragedy and that the office of the presidency is to give all the necessary support to the people who were injured.
The Curia said that their thoughts and prayers are with those injured in the accident.
An appeal for blood was well received at least 100 people people went to the Blood Bank.
In a statement issued at 7.15pm, the National Blood Transfusion Centre said that the situation is under control and there is no more need for people to go to the Blood Bank today. However, it urged the public to visit the blood bank in the coming days.
The Malta Motorsport Federation in a statement said that they are saddened by the accident that occured today and their thoughts at this difficult time are with the injured and their families.
Helpline:
Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne has asked the general public to use the Mater Dei Hospital helpline numbers 25454032, 25453949, 25453947 in case of queries regarding the major incident.