Italian bridge operator in spotlight as collapse death toll rises to 39
Minister seeks ‘highest penalties’ for company Autostrade
GENOA (Reuters) – Rescuers hunted for survivors among huge chunks of debris on Wednesday, after a bridge collapse killed 39 people and injured 16. Furious government ministers rounded on the viaduct’s operator, saying the company should pay fines and compensation and lose its concession.
The 50-year-old bridge, part of a toll motorway linking the port city of Genoa with southern France, collapsed during torrential rains on Tuesday, sending dozens of vehicles crashing onto a riverbed, a railway and two warehouses.
Eyewitness Ivan, 37, evacuated on Tuesday from the nearby building where he works, described the collapse as unbelievable.
“To see a pylon come down like papier-mâché is an incredible thing,” he said. “It’s been a lifetime that we’ve known there were problems. It is in continual maintenance.
“In the ‘90s they added some reinforcements on one part, but also underneath you can see rust.”
As cranes moved in to shift truck-sized chunks of broken concrete, hundreds of firefighters searched for survivors, while public shock and grief turned to anger over the state of the 1.2 km.-long bridge, completed in 1967 and overhauled two years ago.
Italian Transportation Minister Danilo Toninelli, visiting the disaster scene, said bridge operator Autostrade would have to contribute to the cost of its reconstruction as well as pay heavy fines.
But Autostrade, a unit of the Milan-listed Atlantia group, said it had done regular, sophisticated checks on the structure before the disaster, relying on “companies and institutions which are world leaders in testing and inspections” and that these had provided reassuring results.
“These outcomes have formed the basis for maintenance work approved by the Transport Ministry in accordance with the law and the terms of the concession aggreement,” it said.
However the bridge’s condition, and its ability to sustain large increases in both the intensity and weight of traffic over the years, have been a focus of public debate since Tuesday’s collapse, when an 80-meter span gave way at lunchtime as cars packed with holiday-makers as well as trucks streamed across it.
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the private sector manager of the bridge had earned “billions” from tolls but “did not spend the money they were supposed to” and its concession should be revoked.
He was apparently referring to Autostrade.
“Imposing the highest penalties possible and making sure that those responsible for the dead and the injured pay up for any damages and crimes is the very least,” Salvini said.
Fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari said 400 firefighters were at the site, lifting big chunks of concrete to create spaces for rescue teams to check for survivors.
Toninelli earlier said he had begun a process to strip Autostrade of its concession and he demanded top Autostrade managers resign.