An entire section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy, on Tuesday, August 14th. Multiple cars fell from the bridge and parts of the bridge fell on to the cars below. The death count is now 43 people. Many were severely injured and remain hospitalized.
According to CNN, “On Wednesday evening, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte declared a 12-month state of emergency for the city of Genoa and allocated €5 million to the search-and-rescue efforts.”
BBC News reports that one family of three died because their car fell from the bridge. The three family members were Ersilia Piccinino, Roberto Robbiano and their son Samuel, who was seven years old.
Andrea Cerulli, an amateur football player, was also killed, and his death was confirmed by his team.
Survivors of the terrible incident have discussed the traumatic incident.
33-year-old Davide Capello lived, even though he came down with the bridge.
He said, “I was able to get out… I don’t know how my car wasn’t crushed. It seemed like a scene from a film; it was the apocalypse.”
Luciano Goccia told BBC that it was a “miracle” because he lived, even though he was caught in traffic below the bridge. He lost consciousness when his windshield fell on him, and he also broke his arm because of other falling debris.
The exact cause of the collapse is unknown, but some people have already offered their own explanations.
One possible factor is continuous maintenance work, while others have thought that very heavy traffic or even a design mistake could have contributed to part of the bridge breaking.
Matteo Salvini, the Interior Minister, stated that he would “do everything to get the names and surnames of the managers responsible.”
Danilo Toninelli, the Italian Transport Minister, said in one Facebook post that “The top management of Autostrade per l’Italia must step down first of all.” He has also wanted resignations for the Italian highway agency that was in charge of operating the bridge since Wednesday, August 15th.
The government has accused the company of making profits a priority rather than safety, and Autostrade per I’Italia has been threatened with fines and contract termination from the government.
According to The Epoch Times, “Italian prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into the cause of the disaster.”
Autostrade per I’Italia claimed that it was keeping up to date with the law as well as its contract, and one official of the company called the bridge collapse “unexpected and unpredictable.”
Photo credit: euronews.com
