Two young children who were horribly burned in a freak BBQ incident in Birzebbuga last week have been left traumatized by the experience and were yesterday seen by a psychologist, their parents have told this newspaper.
The children, a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old were injured when a flammable liquid fell from a balcony above them. The 10-year-old’s father is UHM President Jesmond Bonello, who spoke to The Malta Independent from his son’s hospital bedside yesterday.
“My son and my daughter, who also witnessed the whole thing, do not want to go to dance lessons anymore. And they don’t want to go anywhere near Birzebbuga,” Mr Bonello said.
Like many other children, Mr Bonello’s son and daughter were gathering for a dancing competition which was due to be held on a cemented area close to the old waterpolo pitch. The place, part of which is usually used as an outdoor eating area by a nearby restaurant, is very popular with children. But the fun evening on Friday was cut short when a “rain of fire” fell from a balcony overhead. It later transpired that an Italian man who lives in the apartment was using some sort of flammable liquid to light up a barbeque.
“There were several kids who got hit by the burning liquid but many of them were only slightly injured, said Mr Bonello. “My son was not so lucky.”
The 10-year-old boy spent a couple of days in the Intensive Care Unit and is now being kept in the Burns Unit. He is expected to remain there for several days and his discharge date depends on the healing process, Mr Bonello said. “Today I am happy because my son opened his second eye.”
An emotional Mr Bonello said it was too early to tell whether his son would be permanently scarred. “We have to see how his recovery goes day by day. The doctors have not committed themselves on anything and there might have to be some medical intervention. The most important thing at this point in time is prayer.”
Mr Bonello said his children were in a supposedly safe area but an act of gross negligence had changed all that. “Now there are two families who are suffering the consequences of this individual’s recklessness. Something like this can ruin someone’s life. We want justice but we also want this to serve as a lesson so that others do not repeat the same mistake again. I was so scared seeing my son in that situation. I hope no one else has to go through with that.”
He added that the Italian man had apologized immediately after the incident but an apology would not heal his son.
Fear and panic has turned into rage
Mr Bonello’s son is sat right next to the other boy who was injured in the incident. The five-year-old received burns to his side, legs, left arm and face.
His mother, Audrey Grech Coldman told this paper that her initial feeling of fear and panic has now turned into a great anger. “We feel that justice is not being done. This person’s negligence manifested itself in the clearest way. He should never have been using flammable liquids above children’s heads.”
Tearing up, she recounted how her maternal instinct kicked in a fraction of a second. “My son was burning from head to toe. I jumped on him and rolled him around to extinguish the fire. Then someone handed me a towel to smother the fire with. My instinct was to put the fire out as quickly as possible so that my son would not end up disfigured. But I was panicking – I thought I would not manage to save him.”
Ms Grech Coldman then grabbed her son and carried him into the sea, to cool him off. “I did not wait for an ambulance. I drove him to the nearest health centre myself.”
Like Mr Bonello, she is also concerned about the psychological effect of the incident. “The boys have 12% burns, which is no joke. But apart from the scars they could also end up carrying the trauma with them for the rest of their lives. They did not manage to sleep last night and a psychologist will see them later on this morning.”
Ms Grech Coldman also said she felt helpless watching her son in pain. “It is so hard to hear your boy screaming when the nurses administer the burn treatment, to see him in so much pain and not be able to do anything to help.”
Rebutting claims that the children had been left unattended, Ms Grech Coldman also questioned the apparent lack of a magisterial inquiry. “We were told that inquiries are only held when people are in danger of dying. Well, two children have ended up in the ITU with horrific burns. I think that is a good enough reason for an inquiry.”