It is hard to imagine how anyone could have survived the blast in Naxxar on Wednesday, but that is exactly what a 15-year-old girl did – albeit with a little help from her wardrobe and mattress.

Rachel Bugeja was asleep at 11am when a blast tore through three houses in Naxxar yesterday. The explosion was caused by the illegal mixing and storage of fireworks chemicals in a garage in Hal Dghejf Street. Three houses were reduced to piles of rubble and mangled wreckage. A van was blown across the street by the force of the blast, narrowly missing two garages (also filled with chemicals).

Three houses were flattened while the house opposite the garage was gutted by fire, as well as having sustained structural damage.

The police announced yesterday that they had recovered the body of a 33-year-old mother of two. Sources involved in the clearing operation said that the woman was found in the remains of the kitchen, propped up and sheltered by a slab from the ceiling. The same source said that the woman seemed to have not suffered any external physical damage apart from a cut to the head.

The search continues for 57-year-old Pawlu ta’ Mniehru, who was allegedly working the chemicals when the blast went off.

It is understood that Rachel was asleep when the explosion took place – she had the day off as it was parents’ day at school. When the blast went off, her wardrobe sheltered her, and the force of the blast overturned the mattress she was sleeping on, providing her with cover. She then ran upstairs to the roof, but when she got there, the house came down around her like a house of cards, one storey at a time. Miraculously, she was not hurt as everything collapsed around her. She was in shock, and needed the help of residents who were at the scene moments after the blast.

Eyewitnesses recalled the moment: “She looked like she was covered in flour. Actually, she looked like a statue of St Paul. She couldn’t get down and was in shock so we had to coax her down,” said one man.

Rachel did not feature in the news yesterday as no one even knew of her ordeal. However, on turning up at the scene in Naxxar, her remarkable story became known as she recounted it to journalists and news crews.

The clean-up operation is far from over, with Civil Protection Department Head Peter Cordina saying that the fires where the explosives were kept are still burning. Mr Cordina said that the rest of the material in the other garages had been removed and destroyed. Asked how much material there was, Mr Cordina said: “Let’s just say there was a vast amount.” Mr Cordina said the blast would have been much worse if all three garages had blown up.

The damage tally, however, is increasing as news filtered through that another house adjacent to one of the ones which was destroyed will have to be demolished as architects certified that it was not safe to live in.

Contacted by this newspaper, Professor Victor Axiak, Chairman of the Archdiocese of the Malta Environment Commission, expressed his disappointment at the fact that the recommendations put forward by the Environment Commission, together with the Pyrotechnics Commission, had not yet been implemented, despite the various tragedies that have taken place over the past year.

Prof. Axiak bemoaned the slow pace at which the relevant authorities have acted, and called for a stronger political commitment in applying these recommendations and safety measures.

Joseph Theuma, an expert on pyrotechnics and a member of the Pyrotechnic Commission, condemned the illegal storage of fireworks in a residential area and insisted that the individuals responsible should face severe punishment, “not just Lm200 fines, which is usually the case”. When quizzed over why authorities had not yet taken up the Pyrotechnic Commission’s safety recommendations, Mr Theuma said their implementation was stopped in view of the recent general elections, but he hoped that they would be put into operation in the near future.

Meanwhile, a victim of a similar blast in Fgura in 2002 contacted this newspaper to express frustration. Sabrina Buckland said that her house was extensively damaged as a result of a similar blast on 7 June 2002. “It’s five-and-a-half years later and we still have not had any help. We now live in a 40-year-old flat with 64 stairs. We lost a lot of money on our home – something like Lm20,000,” she said.

She said that she had approached the Justice Ministry for financial compensation, but was turned away because no deaths were caused by the explosion. She said that she had written to the President and the Prime Minister, but never got an answer. She also spoke to the Malta Labour Party who told her they could do nothing as they were in opposition. After the blast, she and her husband lived in a hotel for a month before being granted a government flat for a one-year period.