Four years after a fireworks factory explosion in Kirkop, a father and daughter who farm nearby land are still fighting for compensation for the damage caused to their fields.

The November 2022 explosion of the St Joseph Fireworks Factory had a serious impact on the Żurrieq farms of Eugenio Bugeja and his daughter Ashley Vella.

A border wall collapsed, leaving Mr Bugeja waist-deep in rubble with a piece of metal lodged in his skin.

His fields suffered extensive damage in the blast: turkeys, pigeons and rabbits were killed, while olive, banana and pomegranate trees, grapevines, and other crops were destroyed.

Mr Bugeja has previously spoken publicly about his struggles, but his daughter reignited the issue with WhosWho.mt following the recent explosion at the Lourdes Fireworks Factory, which left other farmers counting their losses.

Ms Vella warned that farmers are completely vulnerable to firework factory explosions and are left in the lurch when tragedies occur.

She said that she and her father have been attempting to claim some kind of damages for years.

After an architect assessed the damage to their fields, they filed a civil case in January 2023 against the każin that owns the now-rebuilt St Joseph Fireworks Factory, seeking between €27,000 and €30,000 in damages.

The fireworks factory explosion caused extensive damage

The case remains ongoing till this day.

Meanwhile, a politician on the campaign trail informed her that they might be eligible for some kind of state aid.

However, a recent email from the Agriculture Ministry shot down such hopes, informing Ms Galea that state aid compensation is only available where damage is caused by a recognised natural disaster or “exceptional occurrence”.

“Based on the information available, the damage results from the explosion itself rather than directly from the weather conditions, and therefore does not fall within the categories that may be compensated under the applicable agriculture state aid rules,” the Ministry wrote.

There does not seem to be much hope on the insurance front either.

As both Ms Vella and Malta Pyrotechnics Association President Godfrey Farrugia pointed out, while the transportation and display of fireworks is insured, the actual manufacturing of them isn’t.

However, Dr Farrugia confirmed that discussions are ongoing with a foreign insurance firm to try and find a solution.

In the meantime, Ms Vella urged the Government to set up some kind of contingency fund which farmers can tap into if they ever end up in these situations.

“Government defends fireworks factories as part of Maltese tradition, but Maltese farmers are traditional too and must be defended likewise,” she argued.

“It shouldn’t be the case that some animals are more equal than others – everyone likes boasting about how much they stand up for fireworks but what about us farmers?”