Update 10 - Gharb explosion, search for fourth man suspended

Rescuers this evening suspended their search for a fourth man missing in the ruins of a fireworks factory which blew up in Gharb in the afternoon. Th search was suspended at 8 p.m. and will resume early tomorrow. Three other men were found dead earlier in the evening. They still have to be identified. Sniffer dogs were flown to Gozo to help in the search, which continued into the evening under floodlights.  The dead or missing are factory owner Gorg Gatt, Mario Gauci, Peppi Cini and Brian Portelli, the youngest of them at 23. His distraught parents were on the scene and later needed to be taken to hospital for treatment for shock. The factory Qalb ta’ Gesu, was flattened by three explosions, the first two in rapid succession at about 2.45 p.m. and the third some 30 minutes later as rescuers were starting their search. Some were hurt by stones hurled by the blast. None of their injuries are serious. The first blasts were heard as far away as Zejtun in Malta. The third explosion, although less powerful, was also heard in Selmun. The second blast, by far the most powerful, produced a huge mushroom cloud. Photographer Rene Rossignaud was at Ta’ Pinu Church, on the outskirts of Gharb,...