At Least 22 Dead After Busy Highway Bridge Collapses During Storm in Italy.
A major section of a highway bridge in northern Italy partially collapsed on Tuesday, sending vehicles hurtling toward the earth and leaving 22 people dead, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
Angelo Borrelli, head of the Italian Civil Protection Agency, said around 30 vehicles and several heavy-duty trucks were on the affected section of the Morandi Bridge, which lies to the west of the port city of Genoa, when it gave way.
The number of casualties is expected to grow as the rubble is removed, Borrelli said, but it is unlikely that anyone was underneath the bridge at the time of the collapse, he added.
Another 16 people were injured, nine of them in serious condition, Conte said. Conte’s death toll was lower than previously feared and came hours after the office of the governor of the northwestern Liguria region tweeted that the death toll had climbed to 35.
According to police, violent storms were partly to blame for the disaster. Maintenance work was also underway at the time to consolidate parts of the bridge, according to motorway operator Autostrade. A bridge crane had been installed to allow the work to be carried out, the operator said in a statement.
“The works and the status of the viaduct were subject to constant observation and supervision,” the statement said. “The causes for the collapse will be the object of an in-depth analysis as soon as it will be possible to safely access the site.”
Conte said authorities were working on the theory the collapse was due to a “structural failure.”
The incident at the bridge, a concrete structure opened in 1968, occurred around noon (6 a.m. ET) Tuesday, Italian state police said.
The A10, which runs across the bridge, is a major highway for residents and tourists in Genoa, connecting the city with the nearby airport, and a key route along the Mediterranean, linking the Italian coast with French coastal cities to the west.
The disaster occurred during peak tourist season — when many French tourists would have been using the highway — and one day before a national public holiday when many Italians travel to coastal areas.
Davide Di Giorgio was filming the heavy rain from the window of his office in Genoa when he saw part of the bridge crash to the ground.
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