Updated 2.43pm
Three men have been hospitalised after part of the Ta’ Kola windmill in Xaghra collapsed on Friday.
The incident happened around 12 pm during a routine inspection of the windmill following a recent storm.
The sails of the windmill collapsed onto its roof while being rotated manually.
The three men, all employees of Heritage Malta, which manages the site, sustained injuries and were taken to Gozo General Hospital for treatment.
Workers were manually turning the sails when they fell.A police spokesperson said the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
A spokesperson for Heritage Malta said the wooden structure that supports the sails appeared to have sustained extensive damage as a result of last week’s bad weather.
The collapse of the sails also resulted in damage to the roof of the windmill.
He added that repair works to address the damage would start immediately.
The Ta’ Kola windmill is one of the few surviving traditional windmills in the Maltese Islands that still preserves its milling machinery.
It was originally built in 1725 and remained in use until 1987. In 1992, the site was transformed into a folklore and ethnography museum.
In 2012 the windmill underwent extensive restoration following damage sustained in another storm. New vanes were installed and parts of the internal mechanism was changed.