The bridge of death
Collapse kills at least 35 as vehicles plunge 300ft
DOZENS of cars and lorries plummeted 300ft when a motorway bridge collapsed, killing 35 people.
It is feared the death toll will rise after the 600ft central section fell on to rail tracks and buildings yesterday.
A baby was among victims of the horror near Genoa, northwestern Italy.
Italian Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said the collapse appeared to be “an immense tragedy”.
But he said it showed the poor state of the country’s infrastructure, adding: “Those responsible will have to pay.”
Video footage appeared to show a central tower of the Morandi bridge collapsing in stormy weather.
A man can be heard screaming: “Oh God, oh God, oh God.” Some witnesses said the bridge was hit by lightning.
Flashes could be seen as huge concrete columns fractured and fell.
Witness Alessandro Megna was stuck in a traffic jam below. He said: “Suddenly the bridge came down with everything it was carrying.
“It was really an apocalyptic scene, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Police linked the disaster to a “violent cloudburst” and a “structural failure”. Nearly 300 emergency workers attended the scene, some with sniffer
It was an apocalyptic scene, I couldn’t believe my eyes ALESSANDRO MEGNA WAS IN TRAFFIC BELOW
dogs to help search the rubble for victims.
Heavy lifting gear also arrived to remove pieces of the bridge. Firefighters were worried about gas pipes exploding in the area due to the collapse.
Sixteen injured people were taken from the scene by air ambulance, five seriously injured. At least four people were pulled alive from the twisted concrete and steel.
A train packed with passengers arriving from Genoa airport had been scheduled to pass under the bridge 10 minutes after it collapsed. One image posted by regional emergency services showed a truck perched close to the end of a section of bridge still standing.
Two HGVs were pictured overturned, wheels in the air and smashed into pieces, as rescue workers searched the area. Another image showed a white Renault saloon completely flattened.
The tragedy came on the eve of major Italian holiday Ferragosto, meaning traffic would have been heavier than usual as many people travelled to beaches or the mountains.
Last night Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte headed to the disaster scene and put the army on standby to assist with rescue efforts.
Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi said: “It’s not acceptable that such an important bridge... was not built to avoid this kind of collapse.
“People living in Genoa use this twice a day, we can’t live with infrastructures built in the 1950s and 60s.”
The bridge opened in 1967, spans the Polcevera river, a railway line, residential property and industrial units. The highway is a major artery to the
Italian Riviera and to France’s southern coast. Restructuring work was carried out on the bridge in 2016.
It had suffered cracks and deterioration of its prestressed reinforced concrete structure.
ASPI, operator of the A10 toll motorway, said work to shore up the foundation of the bridge was being carried out at the time of the collapse.
It said it was too soon to determine the cause. Stefano Marigliani, ASPI chief for the area, added: “The collapse was unexpected and unpredictable.
“The bridge was constantly monitored, even more than was foreseen by the law. There was no reason to consider the bridge dangerous.” Italy’s anti-establishment coalition government, which took office in June, said the country needed to spend more on its dilapidated infrastructure, ignoring EU budget constraints if necessary.
Deputy PM Matteo Salvini said: “We should ask ourselves whether respecting these budget limits is more important than the safety of Italian citizens. Obviously for me, it is not.” The nation spent more than £12.5billion on its roads in 2006 but that slumped to £3.5billion by 2010.
It only rose to £5billion in 2015, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data showed.
The Genoa bridge was the work of Italian civil engineer Riccardo Morandi, who died in 1989. Another Morandi bridge in Venezuela, built to a similar design, partially collapsed in 1964 after being hit by an oil tanker. The Genoa one is an unusual design and was constantly being repaired.
Antonio Brencich, an engineering professor at the University of Genoa, said in July 2016: “The Morandi bridge is referred to as a masterpiece of engineering; in reality it is a bankruptcy.
“There will be a time when maintenance costs will exceed those of reconstruction, and then we will have to proceed with the replacement.”
Ian Firth, past president of the Institution of Structural Engineers, said: “It is too early to say what caused the tragic collapse, but as this reinforced and prestressed concrete bridge has been there for 50 years it is possible that corrosion of tendons or reinforcement may be a contributory factor.”
It is the latest in a string of bridge collapses in Italy. Last March, a couple were killed when a motorway overpass collapsed on their car near Ancona on the Adriatic coast.
And a motorist died in 2016 when a bridge collapsed on the dual carriageway between Milan and Lecco.
There are two prestressed concrete bridges here: a footbridge in Boston, Lincs, and viaduct in Wigan. In the 1940s and 50s engineers began to favour partially prestressed concrete.