This list of Maltese disasters by death toll includes disasters that occurred either in Malta or incidents outside of the country in which a number of Maltese citizens were killed. It does not include death tolls from war.
| Deaths | Date | Incident | Type | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11300 | 1675–1676 Malta plague epidemic | Epidemic | Malta | The plague outbreak was the worst epidemic in Maltese history.[1] | |
| 4487–4668 | 1813–1814 Malta plague epidemic | Epidemic | Malta and Gozo | The plague outbreak, imported from Alexandria in Egypt, killed about 5% of Malta's population.[2] | |
| 3000 | 1592–1593 Malta plague epidemic | Epidemic | Malta and Gozo | The plague outbreak was imported from Tuscan galleys.[3] | |
| 600+ | Grand Harbour of Malta tornado | Tornado | Grand Harbour | The tornado destroyed a number of ships in the harbour with great loss of life.[4] | |
| 500+ | 2014 Malta migrant shipwreck | Shipwreck | Mediterranean | A boat carrying hundreds of migrants capsized and sank, possibly deliberately, killing the vast majority of the people on board.[5] | |
| 417 | COVID-19 pandemic | Pandemic | Malta and Gozo | As of 7 May 2021.[6] | |
| 150–240 | 1806 Birgu polverista explosion | Explosion | Birgu | A gunpowder magazine located dangerously close to residential areas accidentally blew up, killing many soldiers and civilians and causing extensive property damage.[7] | |
| 118+ | Ship fire | off Fort Ricasoli | The ship caught fire soon after leaving the Grand Harbour, resulting in a number of explosions and causing it to run aground. This is Malta's worst peacetime maritime disaster.[8] | ||
| 110 | Carnival tragedy of 1823 | Human crush | Valletta | A human crush occurred among boys who were being given bread at a convent during carnival, killing around 110 people.[9] | |
| 60 | EgyptAir Flight 648 | Aircraft hijacking | Luqa | An EgyptAir aircraft en route from Egypt to Greece was hijacked by terrorists and landed in Malta. Egyptian commandos stormed the aircraft, resulting in 60 people being killed.[10] | |
| 53 | May 2007 Malta migrant shipwreck | Shipwreck | Mediterranean | An overloaded boat carrying migrants went missing off Malta and no survivors were found.[11] | |
| 50 | 1956 Scottish Airlines Malta air disaster | Air crash | Żurrieq | The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Luqa Airport, killing all fifty people on board.[12] | |
| 40–45 | 1623 Malta plague outbreak | Disease outbreak | Malta | The plague outbreak was contained without a very high death toll.[13] | |
| 23 | 1948 Gozo luzzu disaster | Shipwreck | off Qala | The overloaded boat capsized and sank, killing 23 of the 27 people on board.[14] | |
| 22 | 1634 Valletta explosion | Explosion | Valletta | A gunpowder factory exploded, causing 22 deaths and significant property damage.[15] | |
| 22 | 1945–1946 Malta plague outbreak | Disease outbreak | Malta | The plague outbreak was confined to the harbour area. | |
| 20 | 1655 Malta plague outbreak | Disease outbreak | Malta | The plague outbreak was contained without a very high death toll.[16] | |
| 20 | 1946 Rabat Vickers Wellington crash | Air crash | Rabat | The bomber crashed into a street in Rabat, killing 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.[17] | |
| 12 | 1936–1937 Malta plague outbreak | Disease outbreak | Malta | The plague outbreak was confined to Qormi, Żebbuġ, Rabat, Marsa and Attard. | |
| 9 | Um El Faroud | Explosion | Malta Dockyard | The tanker exploded while in dry dock, killing nine dockyard workers.[18] | |
| 7 | C23 tragedy | Explosion | off Qala | A patrol boat dumping illegal fireworks at sea exploded, killing five soldiers and two policemen on board.[19] | |
| 6 | 1975 Żabbar Avro Vulcan crash | Air crash | Żabbar | The bomber crashed in Żabbar after an aborted landing at RAF Luqa, killing five crew members and a civilian on the ground.[20] | |
| 6 | 1995 Mediterranean Sea Piper Lance crash | Air crash | Mediterranean | The aircraft was en route from Tunisia to Malta when it went missing over the Mediterranean Sea. All 6 people on board, including 3 Maltese citizens, are presumed dead.[21] | |
| 5 | Rabat–Żebbuġ road vehicle collision | Road accident | Rabat/Żebbuġ | Five teenagers were killed in a vehicle collision which is Malta's worst traffic accident.[22] | |
| 5 | 2016 Malta Fairchild Merlin crash | Air crash | Kirkop | The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Malta International Airport, killing all five people on board.[23] | |
| 4 | Fort Delimara explosion | Explosion | Marsaxlokk | Defective bombs stored at the fort detonated after children tampered with a bomb in an attempt to open it, killing four.[24] | |
| 4 | 1917 Malta plague outbreak | Disease outbreak | Kalkara | The plague outbreak was confined to a group of dockyard workers.[25] | |
| 4 | 1952 Luqa Avro Lancaster crash | Air crash | Luqa | The bomber crashed in Luqa, killing 3 crew members and 1 civilian on the ground.[26] | |
| 4 | Simshar incident | Shipwreck | Mediterranean | A fishing vessel exploded, leaving the five people on board stranded on a makeshift raft. Four of them subsequently died, with the only survivor being rescued a week after the explosion.[27] | |
| 2 | Shipwreck | off St. Julian's | The passenger ferry ran aground and capsized, killing one crew member and one passenger.[28] | ||
| 2 | 1982 Tal-Virtù air crash | Air crash | Rabat | A light aircraft crashed into the seminary at Tal-Virtù, killing both people on board.[29] | |