The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) reported 19 fatalities at work between 2019 and 2021.

A statement by the Naitonal Statistics Office (NSO), read that almost all fatalities at work which took place in the past three years involved males; with the exception of one fatal accident which involved a female in 2020. In the majority of cases, victims were either aged between 35 to 44 years or 55 years and over.

Fatal accidents at work took place mostly in the South Eastern district followed by the Southern Harbour district. The Western district was the only district which did not register any fatal accident at work between 2019 and 2021. 42.1% of all fatal accidents that occurred in the past three years involved Maltese nationals; with the remaining 57.9% involving either EU or Non-EU nationals, the NSO said.

Almost three in every four of all fatal accidents at work, involved employees. Enterprises employing one to nine employees registered the highest fatalities at work, followed by those who are self-employed without employees. On the other hand, enterprises employing 50 to 499 employees registered the lowest fatalities at work. Almost 75% of such deaths were caused by head injuries. Other causes involved injuries in the upper extremities of the body and injuries to the torso and organs.

Regarding the type of injuries suffered by the victims, between 2019 and 2021, 18 fatalities at work involved concussions and internal injuries, while the remaining fatality involved drowning and asphyxiation. During the past three years, almost 90% of all fatalities at work occurred in the construction sector. Most fatalities at work (73.7%) involved victims who were engaged in elementary occupations. In 2021, 3.3 fatal accidents per 100,000 employed persons were reported. In 2019 and 2020 the incidence rate stood at 1.2 and 2.7 respectively.