Rome - A motorway bridge collapsed on
Tuesday over the northern Italian port city of Genoa, killing
dozens of people according to the local ambulance service, in
what the transport minister said was likely to be "an immense
tragedy".
The local fire brigade said the bridge collapsed at around
11.30am (0930 GMT) during torrential rainfall. Television
showed images of the collapsed section of the bridge, built on
the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s.
The head of the ambulance service said there were "dozens of
dead", according to Italian news agency Adnkronos. At least 10
people were killed and 20 vehicles were involved, local police
sources said.
An ambulance official told Reuters the service could only
confirm two injured people so far, "but we suppose there are
unfortunately a lot of dead".
Restructuring work on the bridge was carried out in 2016.
The highway operator said work to shore up the foundation of the
bridge was being carried out at the time of the collapse, adding
that the bridge was constantly monitored.
The elevated road crumbled over a river, railroad tracks and
buildings. The highway is a major artery to the Italian Riviera
and to France's southern coast. Train services around Genoa have
been halted.
A witness told Sky Italia television he saw "eight or nine"
vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed in what he said was an
"apocalyptic scene".
Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said in a tweet that he
was "following with great apprehension what seems like an
immense tragedy".
Shares in Atlantia, the toll road operator which runs the
motorway, were suspended after falling 6.3 percent after news of
the collapse.