HOPES FADE OF FINDING MORE SURVIVORS IN BRIDGE COLLAPSE
▶ Genoa residents watched rescue operations in disbelief. Federica Marsi reports from the scene
Rescuers at the site of the bridge collapse that killed 39 people in Genoa said yesterday that there was little hope of finding more survivors.
More than 400 firefighters have been at the scene since the 100-metre-high motorway crumbled into rubble about noon on Tuesday, dragging more than 30 vehicles into the void. The government declared a state of emergency amid anger and shock the bridge was able to give way.
Sixteen people were pulled out alive on the day of the disaster, but yesterday only bodies were removed from the debris.
After a full day of work in scorching temperatures, Alessandro Bussolino, regional co-ordinator for the Red Cross special rescue services, said his team had found “only bodies”.
“The dynamic of the bridge’s collapse does not leave much hope,” Mr Bussolino told The National.
The rescue of a dog, which was found alive but later died of its injuries, briefly lit a glimmer of hope in Mr Bussolino’s day.
But as time passed and the layers of the collapsed bridge were peeled away, finding more survivors seemed increasingly unlikely.
Firefighters, assisted by the Urban Search and Rescue team, must also periodically monitor the structure, which could fall on them.
Civil Protection moved more than 600 people from their homes in the surrounding areas. “Some of them have found shelter with friends and family, others are being hosted in public spaces such as a sports centre,” Pierfrancesco Demilito, local co-ordinator for the Civil Protection, told The National.
Several residents watched the unfolding rescue operations in disbelief.
Edmondo Iannuzzi, 59, a health worker, used to live in one of the buildings overlooking the Morandi bridge, also known as Genoa’s “Brooklyn bridge” for its architectural resemblance to the New York landmark.
“I grew up looking at this bridge, and now it’s gone,” Mr Iannuzzi said.
The bridge, designed by the engineer Riccardo Morandi, was built between 1963 and 1967 by the Italian Society for Water Pipelines. Renovations were ongoing and it is not clear what caused the collapse.
Taxi driver Guido Zavoli, 52, said he was on the motorway half an hour before it collapsed, but that colleagues had even closer calls.
“We all feel blessed not to have been on it at the time,” Mr Zavoli told The National. The taxi driver said he crossed the bridge about 10 times on an average day to collect tourists from the port and take them to the airport.
The motorway was also the main artery towards France and Italy’s northern Piedmont region.
Several vehicles were still on the extremities of the collapsed bridge yesterday, a few centimetres from the edge of the abyss.
A lorry belonging to the Basko supermarket chain was a few metres away from the point where the bridge broke in half. The driver, 37, was doing his daily delivery rounds when the structure collapsed in front of his eyes.
He was said to still be undergoing treatment for shock.
A former football player, Davide Caopello, 36, was unscathed after an 80-metre fall.
Caught between his vehicle and the rubble, he was able to leave his car without aid.
Others were not so lucky. The 39 victims include three children, aged 8, 12 and 13.
Across the city, residents were numbed by the tragedy and few wanted to engage in speculation about the reasons behind the collapse.
“The tragedy could have been even worse,” Mr Bussolino, of the Red Cross, said.
The bridge fell a few metres from private homes and close to an industrial compound.
“Had it collapsed a bit farther, it would have been carnage. In the end, we were lucky.”