The recovery confirmed what had been feared all along, despite widespread hope for a miracle.

Mary Zarb, a 60-year-old teacher, who lived on the top floor of the collapsed block, and Russian national Nadia Vavilova, 24, were recovered near each other from beneath a pile of rubble one-and-a-half storeys high. Mrs Zarb was giving Ms Vavilova a lesson in Maltese, which had been due to take place the day before, but for some reason had been switched to Thursday.

A third person who police believed to have been in the building when it collapsed has not been found, and it now seems likely that there was, in fact, no third person in the building.

The two apartments at Ramon Perellos Street collapsed suddenly at around 3.30pm, leaving what neighbours called “a huge cloud of dust” that took a while to clear.

Matthew Spagnol, an employee of Strand Diving Services, whose shop is right opposite the disaster site, was the first to arrive on the scene with his colleague Adrian Borg. Mr Spagnol told The Malta Independent that he had heard “a loud rumbling sound” and rushed to the scene to see if he could help.

The spot where the bodies lay was indicated by the sniffer dogs but it took some five hours of painstaking work to reach them. Contrary to initial assumptions, the bodies were found further away from their probable location before the collapse. Sources said it seemed that their bodies were carried along with the rest of the debris.

Meanwhile Inspector Mercieca from Qawra police station told TMID that they had arrested five men in connection with the case to prevent them from tampering with the evidence. The men had been interrogated and released shortly afterwards.

The men had been working on the site on Thursday morning. Although he was not on site that day, the architect in charge of the project was also interviewed.

Asked whether they had any lead, the inspector said that nothing was being excluded. “For all we know, it could have had nothing to do with the work taking place next door,” he said. “It could have been that the apartments that collapsed were faulty.”

People at the site on Thursday told TMID that Ms Zarb was a well-known figure in the area, particularly for her kind nature. She had even served as a local councillor.

Today, the Civil Protection Department will be demolishing parts of the adjacent apartments that were still standing and could prove hazardous – one of which is the property of singer Tony Camilleri, Bayzo. Rescue operations were frequently interrupted because of the danger posed by these buildings. Cracks had developed in the supporting wall and some stones were left dangling.

Duty Magistrate Joseph Cassar, who was at the site on Thursday, is conducting the inquiry, helped by various experts he has appointed, while Qawra district police are investigating.

The recovery confirmed what had been feared all along, despite widespread hope for a miracle.

Mary Zarb, a 60-year-old teacher, who lived on the top floor of the collapsed block, and Russian national Nadia Vavilova, 24, were recovered near each other from beneath a pile of rubble one-and-a-half storeys high. Mrs Zarb was giving Ms Vavilova a lesson in Maltese, which had been due to take place the day before, but for some reason had been switched to Thursday.

A third person who police believed to have been in the building when it collapsed has not been found, and it now seems likely that there was, in fact, no third person in the building.

The two apartments at Ramon Perellos Street collapsed suddenly at around 3.30pm, leaving what neighbours called “a huge cloud of dust” that took a while to clear.

Matthew Spagnol, an employee of Strand Diving Services, whose shop is right opposite the disaster site, was the first to arrive on the scene with his colleague Adrian Borg. Mr Spagnol told The Malta Independent that he had heard “a loud rumbling sound” and rushed to the scene to see if he could help.

The spot where the bodies lay was indicated by the sniffer dogs but it took some five hours of painstaking work to reach them. Contrary to initial assumptions, the bodies were found further away from their probable location before the collapse. Sources said it seemed that their bodies were carried along with the rest of the debris.

Meanwhile Inspector Mercieca from Qawra police station told TMID that they had arrested five men in connection with the case to prevent them from tampering with the evidence. The men had been interrogated and released shortly afterwards.

The men had been working on the site on Thursday morning. Although he was not on site that day, the architect in charge of the project was also interviewed.

Asked whether they had any lead, the inspector said that nothing was being excluded. “For all we know, it could have had nothing to do with the work taking place next door,” he said. “It could have been that the apartments that collapsed were faulty.”

People at the site on Thursday told TMID that Ms Zarb was a well-known figure in the area, particularly for her kind nature. She had even served as a local councillor.

Today, the Civil Protection Department will be demolishing parts of the adjacent apartments that were still standing and could prove hazardous – one of which is the property of singer Tony Camilleri, Bayzo. Rescue operations were frequently interrupted because of the danger posed by these buildings. Cracks had developed in the supporting wall and some stones were left dangling.

Duty Magistrate Joseph Cassar, who was at the site on Thursday, is conducting the inquiry, helped by various experts he has appointed, while Qawra district police are investigating.