"Andremo avanti fino a quando non avremo tirato fuori l'ultimo disperso. Le ricerche vanno avanti e non sono mai state sospese ma, ovviamente si sta restringendo l'area operativa". Lo hanno affermato i vigili del fuoco. "Non stiamo più operando in alcune aree dove abbiamo scongiurato la presenza di dispersi - spiega - che sono l'area a margine destro del torrente, i capannoni industriali e il lato della ferrovia più prossimo alle civili abitazioni".</s>A large section of the Morandi viaduct upon which the A10 motorway runs collapsed in Genoa, Italy.</s>At least 22 people died on Tuesday after a motorway bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy. As per latest reports, the death toll can significantly increase as the authorities continue to carry out search and rescue operations at the incident site. Italian Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi lamented the loss of lives due to poor construction of the bridge and said that it is an important bridge in the city and such collapse of it is not acceptable.

Earlier in the day at around 11:30 am (local time), the central section of the bridge collapsed and fell down from a height of at least 50 metres. The broken section fell over a river and some railroad tracks and buildings. According to the local fire brigade, the reason for the collapse was heavy torrential rainfall in the area.

There was heavy traffic on the bridge when the incident happened and all the vehicles that were moving on the 80-metre-long central section suffered dearly when it collapsed suddenly. When the ambulance service arrived at the spot, one of its officials said that there are dozens feared dead.

Initial reports suggested at least 10 people dead and involvement of 20 vehicles in the accident but now it is being reported that the number of fatalities and crashed vehicles can be far greater. Train services around Genoa have been suspended for time being.

The bridge, which is 1.2 km long, was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s and it underwent renovations in 2016. The highway is a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France’s southern coast.</s>GENOA, Italy (Reuters) - At least 35 people were killed when a motorway bridge collapsed in torrential rains on Tuesday morning over buildings in the northern Italian port city of Genoa, Italy’s ANSA news agency cited fire brigade sources as saying.

A 50-metre high section of the bridge, including one set of the supports that tower above it, crashed down in the rain onto the roof of a factory and other buildings, crushing vehicles below and plunging huge slabs of reinforced concrete into the nearby riverbed.

“People living in Genoa use this bridge twice a day, we can’t live with infrastructures built in the 1950s and 1960s,” Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi said on SkyNews24, speaking from Genoa.

Within hours of the disaster, the anti-establishment government which took office in June said it showed Italy needed to spend more to improve its dilapidated infrastructure, ignoring EU budget constraints if necessary.

“We should ask ourselves whether respecting these (budget) limits is more important than the safety of Italian citizens. Obviously for me it is not,” said deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the right-wing League which governs with the 5-Star Movement.

Helicopter footage on social media showed trucks and cars stranded on either side of the 80-metre long collapsed section of the Morandi Bridge, built on the A10 toll motorway in the late 1960s. One truck was shown just metres away from the broken end of the bridge.

Motorist Alessandro Megna told RAI state radio he had been in a traffic jam below the bridge and seen the collapse.

“Suddenly the bridge came down with everything it was carrying. It was really an apocalyptic scene, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said.

Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli told Italian state television the disaster pointed to a lack of maintenance, adding that “those responsible will have to pay.”

But Stefano Marigliani, the motorway operator Autostrade’s official responsible for the Genoa area, told Reuters the bridge was “constantly monitored and supervised well beyond what the law required.”

He said there was “no reason to consider the bridge was dangerous.”

Restructuring work was carried out in 2016 on the 1.2 km-long bridge, first completed in 1967. The motorway is a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France’s southern coast.

Autostrade, a unit of Atlantia, said work to shore up its foundation was being carried out at the time of the collapse.

But the head of the civil protection agency, Angelo Borrelli, said he was not aware that any maintenance work was being done on the bridge.

Borrelli said there were 30-35 vehicles on the bridge when the middle section came down, including three lorries. He said 13 people had been hospitalised, including five in a critical condition.

Some 200 firefighters were on the scene, the fire service said, and Sky Italia television said four people had been pulled from the rubble.

Police footage showed firemen working to clear debris around a crushed truck, while other fireman nearby scaled some of the huge broken slabs of reinforced concrete that had supported the bridge.

The government has pledged to increase public investments and lobby the European Commission to have the extra spending excluded from EU deficit calculations.

“The tragic facts in Genoa remind us of the public investments that we so badly need,” said Claudio Borghi, the League’s economy spokesman.

The office of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was heading to Genoa in the evening and would remain there on Wednesday. Defence minister Elisabetta Trenta said the army was ready to offer manpower and vehicles to help with the rescue operations.

Train services around Genoa have been halted.

Shares in Atlantia, the toll road operator which runs the motorway, were suspended after falling 6.3 percent.</s>A motorway bridge collapsed on Tuesday over the northern Italian port city of Genoa in what the transport minister said was likely to be “an immense tragedy”.

The head of the local ambulance service said there were “dozens of dead”, Italian news agency Adnkronos reported.

The local fire brigade said also victims were likely after the bridge collapsed at around 11:30am during torrential rainfall.

Italian television showed images of the collapsed bridge, which was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s. Restructuring work on the bridge was carried out in 2016.

An 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”.

Genoa is located between the sea and the mountains of northwestern Italy.

Its rugged terrain means that motorways that run through the city and the surrounding area are characterised by long viaducts and tunnels.</s>At least 22 people were killed when a motorway bridge collapsed in torrential rains on Tuesday morning over buildings in the northern Italian port city of Genoa, and the deputy transport minister said the death toll would rise.

At least 22 people were killed when a motorway bridge collapsed in torrential rains on Tuesday morning over buildings in the northern Italian port city of Genoa, and the deputy transport minister said the death toll would rise.

'Apocalyptic scene' - At least 22 confirmed dead as bridge collapses on motorway in northern Italy

An 80-metre section of the bridge, including one set of the supports that tower above it, crashed down in the rain onto the roof of a factory and other buildings, crushing at least one truck and plunging huge slabs of concrete into the river below.

"It's not acceptable that such an important bridge... was not built to avoid this kind of collapse," Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi said on SkyNews24, speaking from Genoa.

He said the collapse had killed at least 22 people but the number of dead would climb.

Helicopter footage on social media showed trucks and cars stranded on either side of the 50-metre high collapsed section of the Morandi Bridge, which was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s. One truck was shown just metres away from the broken end of the bridge.

Restructuring work on the 1.2 km-long bridge, a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France's southern coast, was carried out in 2016. The highway operator said work to shore up its foundation was being carried out at the time of the collapse, adding that the bridge was constantly monitored.

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".

Some 200 firefighters were on the scene, the fire service said, and Italian news agency ANSA said two survivors had been pulled out of the rubble under the collapse.

Police footage showed firemen working to clear debris around a crushed truck, while other fireman nearby scaled broken slabs of the collapsed bridge support.

Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli told Italian state television the disaster showed the dilapidated state of Italy's infrastructure and a lack of maintenance, adding that "those responsible will have to pay."

Italy's anti-establishment government which took office in June has pledged to increase public investments and lobby the European Commission to have the extra spending excluded from EU deficit calculations.

"The tragic facts in Genoa remind us of the public investments that we so badly need," said Claudio Borghi, economics spokesman of the right-wing League party, which governs with the 5-Star Movement.

The office of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was heading to Genoa in the evening and would remain there on Wednesday. Defence minister Elisabetta Trenta said the army was ready to offer manpower and vehicles to help with the rescue operations.

Train services around Genoa have been halted.

Shares in Atlantia, the toll road operator which runs the motorway, were suspended after falling 6.3pc after news of the collapse.</s>Part of a motorway viaduct in the northwestern Italian city of Genoa collapsed on Tuesday, the local fire brigade said, adding that several cars could have been involved in the accident.

Italian news agency Adnkronos, citing local ambulance services, reported that there were "dozens of dead" in the collapse.

What we know so far:
• Some 200 meters (656 feet) of road from Morandi Bridge collapsed onto an industrial zone in the port city at around 11:30 a.m. local time (0930 UTC).
• Rescue operations are underway to remove the rubble.
• Local police said the bridge collapsed during a severe downpour and violent storm.
• A bridge was constructed in 1960s as part of the A10 toll motorway. Restructuring was carried out in 2016.
• Authorities had no information regarding the number of potential victims.

Italy's Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said the bridge collapse looked like an "immense tragedy."

Franco Nativo, a local journalist on the scene, told Italian broadcaster SkyTG24 that he could see "at least eight to nine" vehicles crushed under the rubble from the bridge. "It is an apocalyptic scene," Nativo added.</s>Rescuers at work amid the rubble after a highway bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy. A large section of the Morandi viaduct upon which the A10 motorway runs collapsed in Genoa on Tuesday. Several people have died, rescue sources said. Several vehicles were crushed under the rubble with dead people inside, the sources said.

A huge stretch of a highway bridge collapsed during a sudden storm in northwestern Italy on Tuesday, crushing vehicles. Authorities said that about 10 vehicles were involved.

The section of the Morandi bridge in the port city of Genoa collapsed amid torrential rain, Italy’s Ansa news agency reported. Italian media reported that deaths occurred, but a local police officer said the number of victims wasn't known.

Private broadcaster Sky TG24 reported that the 200-meter (660-foot) section fell over an industrial zone. Firefighters told The Associated Press there are concerns about gas lines.

Video captured the sound of a man screaming: "Oh god, oh, god." Other images showed a green truck that had stopped on the bridge yards short of a gaping hole.

At least two people were pulled out of the rubble alive and have been taken to the hospital, Ansa reported.

The 330-foot tall bridge was built in the 1960s, the BBC reported. It runs over homes, shopping centers, factories, a railway line and a river, according to Ansa.</s>REPORTS have indicated that 35 people have died following the collapse of part of a motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy.

The 1km-long Morandi Bridge, part of the A10 motorway, collapsed just before noon during adverse weather.

The Italian news agency ANSA reports that the death toll is up to 35.

The latest update from state police is that at least 20 people have dead with 14 wounded, although they are unable to confirm if that is the total number of fatalities.

Around 200 firefighters are currently at the scene as rescue efforts continue.

Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli tweeted to say he was following the developments but feared it would develop into an ‘immense tragedy’.

The Dipartimento della Protezione Civile (Civil Protection Department) a national body that deals with exceptional events, has despatched a team to Genoa.

The bridge passes over the Polcevera River and is located between the districts of Sampierdarena and Cornigliano.

Restructuring work on the bridge, which was constructed in the 1960s, was carried out in 2016.</s>ROME (Reuters) - 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”.

A section of the bridge crashed down from a height of about 50 metres over a river and some railroad tracks and buildings. It collapsed at about 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT) during torrential rainfall, the local fire brigade said.

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.

Helicopter footage on social media showed trucks and cars stranded on either side of the roughly 80-metre long collapsed section of the bridge, which was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s.

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, which was 1.2 km long in total, 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 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”.

The office of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was heading to Genoa in the evening and would remain there on Wednesday. Defence minister Elisabetta Trenta said the army was ready to offer manpower and vehicles to help with the rescue operations.

Shares in Atlantia, the toll road operator which runs the motorway, were suspended after falling 6.3 percent after news of the collapse.
The Ponte Morandi viaduct collapses on the A10 motorway in Genoa, Italy. 38 people are confirmed dead, 16 others are seriously injured, 5 are missing and 632 displaced. 35 cars and three heavy vehicles are involved in the accident. Several homes are also damaged and people inside them also injured.