Today at 13:01
Photo from EPA
Today at 6:00 a.m. in the northern Italian city of Genoa, a section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed 45 meters, killing at least 35 people, including a 9-year-old child.
While the local newspaper, Secolo XIX, has reported 35 dead so far, the final number is likely to rise. About 10 cars are buried under the rubble. The approximately 240 firefighters, working with dogs, have recovered 11 injured people, nine of whom reportedly sustained serious injuries.
Based on a preliminary investigation by local police, the accident resulted from storm winds hitting the bridge at 58 kilometers per hour. The bridge, which is part of the A10 highway, had been undergoing repairs.
“The section of the A10 highway affected crosses over several roads, railway tracks, shopping centers, homes and the Polcevera river. It is a major thoroughfare, linking central Genoa with Genoa airport and towns along the coast to the west of the city,” CNN reported.
Italy’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Danilo Toninelli, has already gone to the place of the incident, and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is keeping in touch with rescue services.
On his Twitter, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini thanked the rescue workers at the scene and said, “We are following the situation minute by minute.”
The bridge, also called the Polcevera Viaduct, was designed by Italian civil engineer Riccardo Morandi and built in 1968.
