Education Minister Evarist Bartolo on Monday said that the Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina tragedy cannot be considered as a natural calamity, implying that the crash which injured 28 people could have been avoided.

Last week, Transport Minister Joe Mizzi had blamed the traffic chaos that ensued following heavy rainfall to an "act of God", with Minister Bartolo replying that it cannot be that Malta comes to a standstill every time it rains heavily, with students arrived at school more than an hour late.

“We need to reflect well to avoid a repetition,” Mr Bartolo said  about Sunday's accident.

He was referring to the Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina charity event accident on Sunday in which the driver of a Porsche lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the crowd of spectators.

Mr Bartolo chose to discuss the accident when he was asked to give a reply to a parliamentary question on a completely different subject, indicating the minister’s intention to bring the subject up in the House.

He said that the country has a lot to learn from what happened on Sunday, adding that he was saddened to hear that an assistant head of a school and a pupil were among those injured.

After the accident, a number of people said that the safety measures which were taken by the organisers of the event were “inadequate”.