Matul dan is-sajf, minn Ġunju sa nofs Settembru għerqu u mietu ħdax-il persuna.
Ħdax oħra ħelsuha wara li ffaċċjaw diffikultajiet mal-baħar.
Intant erba’ persuni oħra kienu wiċċhom mal-mewt.
Missier u tliet t’itfal, fosthom żewġ uliedu kienu qed jgħumu f’baħar kalm fl-ewwel Ħadd ta’ Settembru f’Marsalforn meta f’daqqa waħda qabad jobrom u l-mewġ beda jsabbathom mal-blat.
“I saw my son who I was holding infront of me, the five year old and the two boys were behind me get pulled by the strength of the waves and because I was wearing the goggles, I actually saw him tumbling in the under tone so I knew exactly where he was. I was able to dive down and grab him and come up and surface and thrown back into the lagoon and tell the other boys to go back and what it happened then is that the next wave that came along, basically smashed into the lagoon and lifted us over into the channel between the lagoon and the mainland. I felt my knees getting bashed and shredded.”
Filwaqt li Martin McDonald miżżewwġ Għawdxija u ilu jgħix Malta għal żmien twil jisħaq li huwa bniedem tal-baħar tant li tellaq fit-tellieqa tal-Middle Sea Race għal tliet darbiet, huwa jgħid li l-baħar ma tistax tieħdu biċ-ċajt.
Jgħid li wara dan il-każ li ġabu iżjed konxju fuq kemm wieħed irid ikun b’seba’ għajnejn fil-baħar, ħoloq għaqda bil-kampanja Rip My Wave.
Spjega kif l-għan huwa li tinstab soluzzjoni xjentifika għalfejn qed jinħolqu ċertu mewġ anki f’baħar kalm li kapaċi jieħdu l-ħajja ta’ persuna f’tebqa t’għajn.
“If we could find a way of predicting specific time periods and actually have empirical scientific evidence and actually prove that it’s actually the case and why it’s happening, whether it’s seismic, whether it’s wind action, whether it’s shipping. A couple of people have mentioned the Catamaran coming in and out of Valletta as a possible source of these waves but you know the regularity seems to not fit with the schedules of the Catamaran.”
Rip My Wave tnediet ftit tal-jiem ilu iżda r-rispons kien enormi jgħid Martin li jisħaq kif bosta nies ġew fuqu u qasmu l-esperjenzi qarsa tagħhom mal-baħar.
Huwa żied jgħid li huwa importanti li nitkellmu fuq dawn l-istejjer biex jiżdied l-għarfien li l-baħar ingawduh iżda ma niċċajtawx miegħu.
“I think these survivors’ experiences as if you like these people who have actually been through an experience, telling people about it will help them to understand it more and it may be help us to do something constructive and scientific to actually make it safer not just for local Maltese and Gozitan people but for visitors and tourists aswell.”
