The petrified victims who plunged 150ft in a torrent of concrete and twisted steel
AT least 39 people were confirmed to have died in the Genoa bridge collapse last night, three of them children aged eight, 12 and 13.
The victims suffered the unimaginable horror of plunging 150ft to their deaths amid a torrent of falling concrete and twisted steel. At least two workers died when vast chunks of the bridge rained down on them.
Although four were miraculously pulled from the wreckage, the number of dead far outnumbered them. Here are the stories of some of those killed in the disaster:
1: FAMILIES WIPED OUT
Roberto Robbiano, 44, Ersilia Piccinino, 41, and their eight-year-old son, Samuele, from Campomorone, in Genoa province, were on their way to visit relatives in nearby Voltri, their car full of luggage and beach toys.
A friend of the family told the La Repubblica newspaper that he arrived at the scene on Tuesday afternoon and saw their car amid the wreckage, as well as Samuele’s Spider Man ball.
The youngster was among the first to be pulled from the rubble, it was reported. Rescuers also retrieved a mobile phone from the car which was flashing up with the word ‘Mamma’ – possibly a relative desperately trying to get in touch.
Mr Robbiano, an electrician, married in 2014 and frequently posted photos on Facebook of his son and their blackand-white family cat.
A second family, from Milan, were named as Andrea Vittone, 59, Claudia Possetti, 48, and two children from Miss Possetti’s previous marriage, Camilla, 12, and Manuele, 16.
2: ENGAGED MEDICS
Alberto Fanfani, 32, an anaesthesiologist from Florence, was killed along with his fiancee Marta Danisi, 29, a nurse. They had been due to be marry next year. They had been driving through Genoa towards the city of Alessandria in northern Italy, where Miss Danisi had recently moved for work.
3: FRENCH ROADTRIPPERS
French tourists Nathan Gusman, 20, Melissa Artus, 22, and Nemati Alizè Plaze, 20 were on a road trip from Montpellier to Sardinia when they died passing through Genoa.
4: HOLIDAY GIRL
Stella Boccia, 24, was killed alongside her Dominican boyfriend Carlos Jesus Trullio, 23, a waiter. The pair were returning from holiday through Genoa. Miss Boccia’s family were well-known in the city of Arezzo, eastern Tuscany, where they own three restaurants.
5: DEAD IN HER CAR
Elisa Bozzo, 34, from north of Genoa, had recently written on her Facebook page: ‘How can I not celebrate life!!’ Her body was found in her black Opel car.
6: INCREDIBLE ESCAPE
The family of delivery worker Luigi Matti Altadonna, 35, had begun a desperate search on social media before they were called to identify his body at San Martino hospital. Incredibly his colleague Gianlucca Ardini, 29, survived by clinging on to wires 65ft above ground.
Tthe mother of Mr Ardini’s unborn child Guilia Organo told Italian media: ‘I have no words about what happened as I can only think this is a miracle.’ It is understood the pair were making their last delivery of the day.
FRIENDS OFF TO SPAIN
Matteo Bentornati, Giovanni Battiloro, Gerardo Esposito and Antonio Stanzione were also named among the dead. The men, all aged in their early 20s, were driving to Nice and planned to spend the summer between there and Barcelona. They originally planned to fly.
AMATEUR FOOTBALLER
Andrea Cerulli, a father- of- one, was killed on his way to work at Genoa port, according to friends who flooded social media with tributes. He played for Genoa Club Portuali Voltri.
Yesterday the team shared a Facebook image of the footballer with his young son on his shoulders, adding: ‘Genoa Club Portuali Voltri is rallying around Andrea’s family, our associate, our friend, our colleague.’
WORKERS BURIED
Mirko Vicini, 31, a worker at waste management company Amiu, was below the bridge when it collapsed. His colleague Bruno Casagrande 35, is feared to have died beside him. A third man, Alessandro Campora, who worked for maintenance company Aster, is still missing.