The village feast of Our Lady of Pompei was held as scheduled this evening in spite of a fireworks explosion on Saturday that injured four people.

This was confirmed by Marsaxlokk parish priest Fr Mario Mangion (below) when contacted by The Malta Independent. Fr Mangion said that when the parish had the reassurance that no fatal injuries resulted from the blast "we decided not to cancel the procession".

Last night a fireworks explosion took place at around 9:30pm in the Delimara area, close to where the new power station is being built. Four men were injured in the blast. One of them is still receiving treatment in ITU and another one is still hospitalised.

In a statement issued this morning the Health Ministry confirmed that the other two men have been sent home after being treated for slight injuries.

Fr Mangion said that the Marsaxlokk community shows solidarity with the victims and their families and wish them a speedy recovery. He said that a fireworks display will still be held this evening as part of the festivities.

The police said on Sunday morning that two men aged 47 and 55 from Zurrieq, and a 21-year-old of San Giljan suffered slight injuries, while a 58-year-old from Zurrieq suffered grievous injuries.

Last night Minister for Health Chris Fearne was informing the public by updating his Twitter account and also by setting up a helpline for the public.

The police did not explain the dynamics of the explosion in a statement.

Witnesses said that an amount of fireworks took off at the same time. 

Police officers and members of the Civil Protection Department were on site to help the injured and control the crowd which was attending the celebrations.

Cars parked in the vicinity were damaged and glass panes of nearby houses were broken.

Home Minister Carmelo Abela was for a time on the site of the accident.

Photos/Video by Michael Camilleri

Photos Kimberly Mifsud - Malta Dizastru Totali, Facebook.