Simshar incident refers to an incident whereby four people died before or after an explosion took place aboard a fishing vessel named ''Simshar'' off the eastern coast of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. The incident took place on July 11, 2008.

Incident

On the morning of 7 July 2008, ''Simshar'' departed the coast of

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The ...

, a small, traditional

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...

in the

South Eastern Region The South Eastern Region ( mt, Reġjun Xlokk) is one of five regions of Malta. The region includes the southeastern part of the main island of Malta, including the capital Valletta. The region borders the Central and Southern Regions. It was c ...

on a fishing trip, expected to return on 11 July. The boat was carrying five people - its owner, Simon Bugeja, his father Karmenu Bugeja, his 11-year-old son Theo Bugeja, a Maltese man named Noel Carabott, and a Somali man named Abdulrahman Abdala Gedi. It is believed that a blast took place on board the vessel on 11 July, destroying the boat. The five people on board survived the blast and survived for several days adrift a makeshift raft made of floating debris from the blast.

Victims

Four of the five people on board the ''Simshar'' died in the days following the incident, Simon Bugeja being the sole survivor. According to Simon Bugeja, Abdulrahman Abdala Gedi died on 12 July, followed by Noel Carabott on 13 July, Karmenu Bugeja on 14 July, and Theo Bugeja on 18 July. The bodies of three of the victims were recovered, however that of Theo Bugeja was never found. Following an extensive search by the

Armed Forces of Malta The Armed Forces of Malta ( mt, Forzi Armati ta' Malta) is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate battalions, with minimal air and naval ...

, and the Maltese fishing community, a fishing vessel called the ''Grecale'' found Simon Bugeja alive on 18 July.

In popular culture

The incident was dramatised by Maltese director

Rebecca Cremona Rebecca Cremona is a Maltese film director. She is the director and co-writer of '' Simshar'', the first Maltese film to be submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Education Cremona obtained a BA in Film and Comparative ...

through a 2014 film titled '' Simshar''.

References

{{coord, 35, 50, 30, N, 14, 32, 41, E, type:city_region:MT, display=inline,title 2008 in Malta Shipwrecks of Malta Marsaxlokk Maritime incidents in 2008