GRIEF ENGULF VICTIMS’ RELATIVES AND SURVIVORS OF GENOA BRIDGE DISASTER

▶ As death toll reaches 39, Morandi bridge collapse provokes political anger, scapegoating and panic attacks

In the town perched between hills and the sea and built on a web of bridges and flyovers, the mortuary of Genoa’s San Martino hospital was visited on Thursday by grieving relatives of victims of the collapse of the Morandi bridge two days before.

The deaths of 39 people, with up to 20 more still missing, has been hard to absorb for those directly affected and the country as a whole.

“It could have been any one of us,” a relative of one of the victims told The National.

His brother-in-law, Antonio Stanzione, was travelling on holiday with three friends in their twenties, from the southern town of Torre del Greco to the French city of Nice.

“They were supposed to go on holiday in the south of Italy, but they changed their mind last minute and decided to go to Nice instead,” the relative said.

Matteo Bertonati, one of the victims who died alongside Stanzione, had suggested the trip to Nice, where his sister had a house. The twist sealed their fate.

Toto Toralbo, 29, spoke of his friend Giovanni Battiloro, who died, and his volunteer work last year with rescue crews after a fire in southern Italy.

“We gave assistance to the emergency units as volunteers when the fire started at the Vesuvio in 2017,” Mr Toralbo told The National. “He always fought for civil rights ... he did not give up but this is a country that does not repair its bridges, this is a country that does not protect its youth.”

Grief at personal loss is accompanied by political anger at the state of the country. Mr Toralbo took to social media to demand justice.

After the collapse, the government said it would terminate the contract of the highway operator, Autostrade per l’Italia, which is responsible for road safety. The company’s shares fell by almost 30 per cent on Wednesday after the government announcement.

The Benetton clothing family, the biggest shareholder in Autostrade per l’Italia, came under fire for not investing enough in public infrastructure. A picture of the bridge with the Benetton slogan, “United Colours of Benetton”, is being shared on social media.

Marco Cacciotto, political analyst at the University of Milan, said the disaster had been pounced on by populists.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini of Italy’s eurosceptic League party said the failure of the bridge must be a turning point. Mr Salvini wants to increase investment in infrastructure and hinted that EU spending limits could put lives at risk.

“If external constraints prevent us from spending to have safe roads and schools, then it really calls into question whether it makes sense to follow these rules,” he said. “There can be no trade-off between fiscal rules and the safety of Italians.”

Political rhetoric aside, Italy is unlikely to shake off the constraints on its budget any time soon.

“Italy has a huge public debt,” Mr Cacciotto said. “A politician can do one of two things: either he admits he can’t do anything, or he blames someone else.”

Besides the families of the dead and the injured, the disaster will affect hundreds of thousands for months and years to come. Not only is one of the main north-south traffic arteries in the country now broken, but at least 600 people have had to leave their homes under what is left of the bridge.

The Kromer family does not know whether they will ever be able to return. “We were told to take things for two days, but now it looks like we won’t be able to go home,” Adriana Monaco Kromer, 58, told The

National. She said she did not have much faith in the municipality taking care of them. “Maybe they will pay us for a hotel for a few weeks, but in the long term, what will we do?”

At a makeshift reception centre, treatment is available for those traumatised by the bridge collapse.

Maria Tini, 58, a volunteer doctor, said many of the people she had assisted had abandoned their cars on the bridge. “There is one man from Ravenna who is suffering deep shock,” she said. “He suffers from frequent panic attacks and says he feels like he is being dragged down into the void with the others.”

Genoa’s recovery, she said, would be a great deal more complicated than the cost and complexity of building a new bridge.

Not only is a main artery between north and south broken but 600 people had to leave their homes