Bridge collapse anger rises as Genoa death toll climbs

Two more bodies have been pulled out of tonnes of rubble after a bridge collapsed in Genoa, raising the death toll in the disaster to at least 39 people.

The collapse of the Morandi Bridge sent dozens of cars and three trucks plunging as much as 150ft to the ground.

Many Italian families were on the road ahead of the major summer holiday Ferragosto.

Civil protection authorities confirmed 39 people died and 15 were injured. Interior minister Matteo Salvini said three children were among the dead.

Rescuers and sniffer dogs are continuing to search through tonnes of concrete slabs and steel for survivors or bodies.

Investigators are also working to determine what caused a 260ft long stretch of highway to break off from the 150ft high bridge in the north-western port city.

Italian politicians, for their part, are trying to find who to blame for the tragedy.

The 1967 bridge, considered innovative in its time for its use of concrete around its cables, had long been due for an upgrade, especially since the structure saw more heavy traffic than its designers had envisioned.

One expert in such construction, Antonio Brencich at the University of Genoa, had previously called the bridge “a failure of engineering”.

A woman who was standing below the bridge told RAI state TV that the structure crumbled as if it were a mound of baking flour.