Peter Gatt, president of the Chamber of Geologists, has renewed calls for the establishment of a national geological service in the wake of the fatal rockfall near Comino during the last weekend, warning that Malta remains the only country in Europe without one.
The tragedy is the most recent and devastating example of a system he defines as reactive rather than proactive.
A 26-year-old Chinese tourist died on Saturday evening after a natural rock arch, known locally as the "Kissing Elephants" and located near Santa Marija Battery, collapsed onto the jet ski he was riding. A 27-year-old Chinese woman riding with him was thrown into the sea and suffered serious, though not life-threatening, injuries. Police believe the arch gave way just as a 32-year-old American tourist was preparing to jump from it into the sea, sending large sections of rock down onto the watercraft passing beneath. The American was pulled from the water by a private vessel and treated for minor injuries; and he did not require hospitalisation. Divers from the Armed Forces of Malta, supported by the Civil Protection Department, carried out an overnight search-and-recovery operation before the victim's body was located trapped beneath the fallen rock on the seabed.
For Gatt, the response to the collapse cannot stop at recovering the wreckage and mourning the loss. "Instead of leaving site management to non-experts," he said, a team of professional geologists should be monitoring "structural integrity using precise, data-driven metrics", evaluating "the real-time risk of collapse at high-traffic locations", and providing "clear, evidence-based guidance on when a site must be closed to protect human life". Without that, he believes that the Comino tragedy will not be the last of such type of accidents.
His argument rests on a tension he describes as central to how Malta relates to its own landscape: the pull between accessibility and safety. "Closing off sites of geological interest should never be a decision made lightly." Gatt said, describing Malta's limestone coastline as "cornerstones of our geological heritage" and "open-air classrooms" that restrictions can quietly diminish. "Ideally, these spaces should remain open, allowing the public to experience the islands' natural evolution firsthand," he said.
But he was equally clear that "the very forces that make these locations spectacular also render them inherently unstable" and that, as a rule, "the more spectacular the site, the greater the geological forces that created it", meaning the most admired locations often carry the highest risk of collapse.
What happened in Comino last weekend is not the first experience of such type of happenings. The most dramatic of them was the collapse of Gozo's Azure Window in March 2017 after decades of visible erosion. There had previously been geotechnical assessments and a 2016 emergency order restricting access that was largely ignored by visitors. There was then the 2024 death of 22-year-old Mirabelle Falzon, struck by falling rock while swimming in St Thomas' Bay area; this was further evidence of a pattern rather than a series of unconnected accidents.
That pattern, in Gatt's view, is playing out again right now at Imġiebaħ Bay near Selmun in Mellieħa, where a deep fissure in the cliff overlooking the beach has prompted the local mayor, Gabriel Micallef, to demand the area be closed entirely. A government-commissioned report completed in May 2025 found the unstable rock formation posed "a significant risk to public safety", yet no entry signs were only put up in September, four months later, after months of the mayor pressing the Lands Authority, the Public Works Department, the Environment and Resources Authority and the Coastal Unit for action.
Micallef has argued that signage alone will not keep people safe as the public can still access the area beneath the unstable rock face. For Gatt, this delay between identifying a danger and closing off the danger is precisely the gap a dedicated Geological Service would exist to close.
What Gatt is proposing is a professional body of geologists tasked with monitoring the structural integrity of high-risk sites using data-driven methods, evaluating collapse risk at popular locations in something closer to real time, and issuing clear, evidence-based guidance on when a site genuinely needs to be closed. Rather than leaving these judgements to whichever government department happens to receive the complaint, he wants the decisions handed to people whose expertise is specifically suited to reading the ground itself. This would not necessarily entail permanent or blanket closures, but rather a more responsive, scientifically grounded alternative to the current cycle of warnings, delays and, ultimately, disasters.
Gatt's vision for the service extends beyond coastal beauty spots. He has also raised concerns about deep excavation work linked to the construction industry, arguing that without a body of experts vetting the geological impact of major building projects, residents may remain largely unaware of the stability of the ground beneath their own homes and workplaces.
What frustrated Gatt most is that this is not a new idea. "It is deeply concerning that opposition to the formal recognition of the geological profession persists in Malta," he said, "even though Malta is the only country in Europe without a national geological service." He said efforts to establish one "have repeatedly faced resistance from quarters that prioritise short-term interests over the public good".
For Gatt, establishing a geological service is "not an optional luxury" but, in his words, "a prerequisite for informed urban planning, environmental stewardship, and the preservation of public safety - and he insists "the government has a fundamental duty to protect its citizens".