Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday that the toll in the Genoa bridge collapse has risen to 38. “We’re currently at 38 confirmed deaths and some people missing,” Salvini, who is also the interior minister, told reporters according to AFP.
The structure collapsed at around noon local time (around 3 pm Indian time) on Tuesday, during heavy rain, as vehicles plummeted some 100 metres. The Morandi Bridge, which stands on the A10 highway, was built in the 1960s and restructuring work was carried out in 2016. The highway is a key connecting route the Italian Riviera to France’s southern coast.
Salvini also told reporters that those responsible for the collapse would “pay, pay everything, and pay dearly”. A criminal inquiry has been initiated into the incident, The Guardian reported.
However, Luigi Di Maio, who also serves as the deputy prime minister, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday blamed the company carrying out maintenance work on the bridge. “Those responsible for the tragedy in Genoa have a name and a surname, and they’re called Autostrade per l’Italia,” Maio said. “For years it’s been said that private management would be better than that of the state. And so today, we have one of the biggest dealers in Europe telling us that the bridge was safe and there was no worry of it collapsing. Autostrade had to maintain it but didn’t. It takes the highest road tolls in Europe and pays low taxes.”
Italy’s Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli called on senior managers at Autostrade per l’Italia to resign immediately. He said that the government intends to cancel the firm’s agreement to manage the A10 toll motorway connecting Genoa to the French border.
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