The death has been announced of Dr Paul Chetcuti Caruana, who passed away at the age of 77.

Chetcuti Caruana was widely known for having survived one of the most notorious incidents during the doctors' strike of 1977, when he received a letter bomb that, by chance, failed to explode.

A similar letter bomb was sent to Professor Edwin Grech. It detonated when it was opened by his daughter Karin, who was killed at the age of 15 in one of the darkest episodes in Malta's post-war history.

Chetcuti Caruana entered national politics in 1976, when he was elected to Parliament on behalf of the Labour Party. He later continued his public service at local level and was elected Mayor of Mosta in 2007.

Prime Minister and Labour Party Leader Robert Abela paid tribute to him, describing Dr Chetcuti Caruana as a man of service not only in the medical profession but also in politics.