Video: Liane Gauci/Lovin Malta
Members of the Civil Protection Department, the Armed Forces of Malta and the Malta Red Cross rescued two French kayakers in an operation that lasted a number of hours after the pair got trapped in a cave in Mellieha.
A CPD official confirmed that two persons had paddled into a cave near l-Ahrax and got trapped inside. A CPD rescue boat was sent to assist but the rescue attempt was unsuccessful. A rescue attempt by members of the Red Cross was also unsuccessful.
The Armed Forces of Malta were eventually asked to help and the couple was saved by an AFM helicopter in a delicate operation.
Liane Gauci, who heard the couple scream for help and phoned the emergency services, told Lovin Malta: "We saw a French couple in a canoe. The girl was having a panic attack, screaming and hitting the canoe and shouting for help. At one point she jumped off the canoe and held onto the rocks but we convinced her to get back in because she would have got crushed."
The couple entered the cave from a narrow entrance that then became blocked by the crushing waves.
Other news footage shows an AFM helicopter winching rescue divers down into the water near the trapped canoeists.
Picture: Daniel Borg
Malta Conoe Federation says accidents could be avoided if they had some form of training
The Malta Canoe Federation issued a statement dissociating itself from the accident that occurred this afternoon.
"Furthermore, as a reaction to the said incident, the Federation would like to point out that the majority of recent kayak related accidents could have been avoided if the paddlers had some form of training on safety and basic kayaking skills".
"Paddlers who have not had any training and are planning to organise and/or attend trips around the Maltese islands are urged to contact the Malta Canoe Federation for information regarding formal training. Let us help keep our sports safe".