A building in Paceville collapsed on Wednesday night, and the police said that there were no injuries.

The building, on Triq Paceville, was located next to an active construction site. A stop works notice was issued by the Building & Construction Authority (BCA) on 10 June - Tuesday - on the construction site.

It is understood that the authorities evacuated all 32 residents in the building earlier on Wednesday, and that the building was empty at the time of its collapse. 

This was confirmed by the BCA in a statement, saying that the building was adjacent to a site where demolition work was ongoing.

The BCA said that people were evacuated from the apartment block in question after a stop works notice was issued and after a discussion with the architects involved.  The evacuation was because the building was in a dangerous state, the BCA said.

The Malta Independent was informed on Thursday morning that architect Christopher Mintoff had filed a report with the BCA a few days earlier about the damage that was seen on the building which collapsed on Wednesday night, after being requested to conduct an inspection by some of the building's owners. It is understood that this report led to the stop works notice being is sued on the adjacent construction site on 10 June.

A similar statement to the BCA's was issued by the Occupational and Health Safety Authority, which said that earlier in the day it had carried out an inspection on the site, had taken action to issue a stop works notice on a development that was taking place in the adjacent site and cooperated with the police for people to be evacuated from the building which eventually collapsed.

Police officers as well as members of the Civil Protection Department and medical personnel went on site. Members of the Building and Construction Authority were also at the scene. It is understood that the incident happened at around 10.30pm.

Cars as far as three streets away were covered in dust, and debris from the building was also seen in the street.

In a second statement on Thursday morning, the BCA said that on 10 June, it had issued an immediate stop work order on the site.

Following further inspections and discussions with the architects involved, it was determined that there was a significant risk to the stability of the affected building. The Police were promptly informed, and the building and the surrounding perimeter were evacuated to ensure public safety.

Further inspections and safety evaluations are being led by the BCA, with the support of independent experts, who are assisting in the assessment of other adjacent buildings

The BCA said it is coordinating structural inspections of surrounding buildings to ensure they are not at risk.​

The BCA said it also launched a formal investigation to determine the cause of the collapse.​

In collaboration with other relevant authorities, the BCA is overseeing the safe removal of debris and ensuring that the area is secure before access is restored to the public.