Bridge Collapse in Italy Kills at Least 30 as Vehicles Plunge 150 Feet to the Ground
Dozens have been killed in Italy after a bridge collapsed amid a torrential downpour in the northwestern city of Genoa on Tuesday.
Vehicles on the roadway fell 150 feet during the collapse of the Morandi Bridge, reports the Washington Post. The bridge traverses through a three-quarter-mile section Genoa, and is used by drivers traveling between Italy and France. On Tuesday, the bridge was likely experiencing heavy traffic due to travelers preparing for an upcoming Italian holiday, the newspaper notes.
The accident left a horrific mound of concrete covering a warehouse and railway, which can be seen in pictures posted to social media.
“I saw death,” an eyewitness, Andrea Rescigno, told local television station Primocanale. “My wife screamed at me to stop. If not for that we’d be dead now.”
Nearly 200 firefighters were on scene to pull survivors from the rubble, according to the BBC. The news outlet reported that one witness — who lives three miles from the bridge — said they heard a “crazy bang,” which was then followed by chaos.
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“We were very scared,” the unnamed witness, speaking to Ansa news agency, said. “Traffic went completely haywire and the city was paralyzed.”
The collapse happened around 11:30 a.m. local time during torrential rain and at least one witness told Ansa news agency that they saw a lightning strike around the time of the disaster.
“It was just after 11:30 when we saw lightning strike the bridge,” Pietro M all’Asa told the outlet, via BBC. “And we saw the bridge going down.”
Various news reports say there were between 20 to 30 vehicles on the bridge during the accident.
Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said around 30 people have been confirmed dead so far, with numbers expected to rise, Sky News reports. Many others are seriously injured.
Following the accident, French president Emmanual Macron tweeted his support to those involved with the rescue efforts.
“Our thoughts go to the victims, to their relatives and to all the Italian people,” Macron wrote. “France is on the side of Italy in this tragedy and stands ready to give all the necessary support.”
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Al Jazeera reports that restructuring has been done on the bridge in 2016, and work on its foundation was being done during the time of the collapse.
Danilo Toninelli, the country’s transport minister, told a local news station that Italy has needed to do upgrades its highway bridges that were built between the 1950s and 1970s. Proper maintenance has not been done so far, he said, saying the collapse was proof of it.
“These kind of tragedies cannot and should not happen in a civil country,” Toninelli said, according to the Washington Post. “Those who will be considered responsible will need to pay to the last cent. It should not be possible to see images like these in a country like Italy.”
