The 51-year-old Albanian national who died last Saturday after a ceiling collapse in Sliema has been identified as father of six, Bari Balla.

Balla, who is from Librazhd, had been living in Zebbug and working in Malta for the past two years, Newsbook said.

Another worker aged 31, who is Balla’s relative, emerged from the debris on his own and was taken to hospital in an ambulance, but Balla was found dead under the rubble.

The ceiling that collapsed is in a residence in St Ignatius Street that is undergoing refurbishment works. The two were testing the site to see if it could withstand the planned works when a wall collapsed, causing the ceiling to then collapse.

While the developers – Oratorian Capital, owned by Samuel Borg and Luca Miceli Demajo – had their permit approved by the Planning Commission, they could not yet start works until the objection period had elapsed.

Following the collapse, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) issued a statement saying the works had not been sanctioned yet and were carried out without the necessary permits in place.

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) also issued a statement saying that the necessary documents had not been filed, so it had not been notified about the works.

Balla is a father of six children, with the youngest being 12. His family is raising funds to take Balla’s body back to Albania, and have set up a GoGetFunding page. One can make donations here: https://gogetfunding.com/ndihmo-per-funeralin-e-bari-balla/

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Photo: Newsbook