The charity event Paqpaqli ghal istrina quickly turned into a nightmare as a car tore through a flimsy set of barricades and into a throng of people. 26 people were injured, five of them critically, with a six year old child also being on the danger list.

As always, a knee-jerk reaction is expected. The safety barriers which were put in place were nothing more than police barricades, which themselves became a weapon of destruction as soon as they buckled when the car smashed through them.

Motor sports events always feature extra safety, most notably impact absorbing materials, such as car tyres or water filled containers that absorb a lot of the initial impact. Instead, Sunday’s event saw only the barricades which are used for multi-purpose activities, such as cordoning off roads during a festa, or to keep people off Republic Street when dignitaries tour our capital. In short, those barricades were never going to do anything to help avoid injuries in the event of something tragic happening.

In Malta, we always seem to put up with the status quo and secretly hope that nothing happens which could alter it. Let us be honest, super cars accelerating to massive speed near a mass of people is a potential recipe for disaster and should warrant proper safety protocol.

And so, it has happened. As a publishing house, our thoughts and sympathy goes out to those who were hurt emotionally and physically. But we must learn our lesson. How many times have we never acted until something serious happens? This is one of them. In the future, when such events are organised, they should have a proper safety plan drawn up to make sure that risks are accounted for and mitigated.

We also have to give praise to the emergency teams who responded to the calls for help. The Hospital was galvanised into action and first responders did an admirable job in tending to the injured and conveying them to hospital for treatment.

The CPD, AFM and the police also did an admirable job in securing the area and preventing further panic from spreading. What was also notable was the absence of political figures who should have, at least, made an appearance, or sent a deputy in their place. The Health Minister and the Interior Minister were nowhere to be seen. It was later established that the Interior Minister was away on official duties, but surely, someone should have been sent to deputise in his place, or at the very least, a statement should have been issued.

Parliamentary secretary Chris Fearn, on the other hand, has been relentless in doing his duty. He faced the press again yesterday and gave a full update on what was going on. Of course, it is now time for the authorities to investigate. A magisterial inquiry has been launched, and once it is completed, the police will launch an investigation to establish whether charges should be pressed against the organisers, as well as the driver who was behind the wheel. It is tragic to see that what was supposed to be a family event turned into a nightmare, all because there was no proper safety plan put in place.