A 40-year-old man from Zabbar became the first workplace fatality yesterday when the land beneath the truck he was emptying into a quarry collapsed with the result that the vehicle tipped over and overturned, trapping the driver in the cabin and killing him instantly.

The police said the accident took place in a quarry close to the waste recycling plant in Marsascala at 11am.

The police added that while the material on the truck was being emptied into the quarry, the land underneath collapsed and the vehicle tipped over. The man was certified dead on site.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti appointed several experts to help him in the inquiry.

The police are investigating.