At least 20 dead in Italy bridge collapse
VEHICLES FALL 150FT IN STORM
TWENTY people have been killed after a bridge on a main road linking Italy with France collapsed in Genoa during a storm, sending vehicles plunging nearly 150ft into a heap of rubble below.
A huge section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed over an industrial zone in the north-west Italian port city, sending tonnes of twisted steel and concrete debris onto warehouses below.
An official at Italy’s civil protection agency confirmed the death toll stands at 20, with another 16 people hurt.
Luigi D’Angelo warned that the figure could climb, as 10 of the 16 are critically ill.
The head of intensive care at the San Martino hospital in Genoa, Angelo Gratarola, said that the injuries include multiple traumas.
Officials said that between 30 and 35 cars and three heavy trucks were caught up as a 260ft stretch of the bridge collapsed.
Highway engineers are checking the safety of the bridge at other points, and some areas are being evacuated as a precaution.
Italian transport minister Danilo Toninelli said the collapse of the bridge was ‘unacceptable,’ and added that if negligence played a role, then ‘whoever made a mistake must pay.’
Mr Toninelli added they were about to launch a €20 million (£17.8 million) bidding process for significant safety work on the bridge.