Update 3 | Maltese national suffering from gunshot wounds in Libya evacuated

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A Maltese national suffering critical gunshot injuries was evacuated from Libya via air ambulance earlier in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The man, identified as Matthew Dingli, 31 of Kappara, suffered one shot. The police and the Malta Security Service are investigating. The man is currently recovered at Mater Dei’s Intensive Therapy Unit.

According to initial information retrieved by this newspaper, Dingli was found injured in his apartment. Investigations are underway to determine whether there were any other individuals in the apartment.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, currently in Paris, told journalists that one shot was fired and a bullet punctured the man’s head through the neck.

Early this morning, #Malta + #Libya authorities worked together to evacuate Maltese national critically wounded with gunshot in #Tripoli.

— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) March 5, 2015

Muscat confirmed that a member of Dingli’s family contacted the government requesting assistance.

“The government immediately kicked off its investigations and research to find the man. He was traced to a hospital in Tripoli. We deployed our contacts there to the hospital and sought assistance from all Libyan authorities,” he said.

Although Dingli was in critical condition, Muscat said a decision to bring the Maltese national to Malta was taken after the hospital confirmed it did not have the necessary medical resources to take care of the victim.

#Malta authorities working to independently verify dynamics of case. We renew formal advice not to travel to #Libya.

— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) March 5, 2015

“I will not speculate on what happened and the police and the Malta Security Service are investigating. What is clear so far is that one shot was fired,” he said, adding that the government had “at least two theories” of what could have happened.

Dingli was transferred to one of the hospitals in Tripoli on Wednesday night. An evacuation operation to trace the man and bring him to Malta kicked off as soon as the Maltese government was informed. He was transported to the island during the night, a few hours later.

Closely following case of #Malta citizen shot in #Libya. We promote cooperatation between all authorities to ensure safety of our people.

— Simon Busuttil (@SimonBusuttil) March 5, 2015

An air ambulance left the military airport of Mitiga in Libya at 1.52am and landed in Malta at 2.34am. A waiting ambulance rushed the man to Mater Dei Hospital.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that Maltese and Libyan authorities cooperated to evacuate the man, who a government statement identified as a "34-year-old man from Kappara", was injured in as yet unverified circumstances. 

According to the statement, the man sustained his injuries in Tripoli, where he had traveled for work despite official warnings against travel to the increasingly unstable country. The government said it had immediately enlisted the help of its contacts to aid in the man's evacuation. 
The PM also reiterated the government's strong recommendation against travel to the country. 

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil also tweeted about the incident, saying that he was following the case closely.