'Dozens Dead' in Italy after Huge Section of Genoa Motorway Bridge Collapses

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Dozens of people are reported to have been killed after a large section of Motorway Bridge collapsed onto houses in the northern port city of Genoa.

The head of the local ambulance service said there were “dozens of dead”, Italian news agency Adnkronos reported. However, Maria Luisa Catalano of the highway police in Genoa said work was ongoing, adding, “We don’t know numbers of victims/injured yet.”

Danilo Toninelli, the Transport Minister, said in a tweet that he was “following with great apprehension what seems like an immense tragedy”.

Up to 100 yards of the motorway collapsed at around 11:30am (9.30am GMT) during torrential rainfall after Genoa was hit by a strong thunderstorm, The Telegraph reported.

“The debris from the collapse came to within 20 meters of my car,” said a witness, Davide Ricci, who saw the bridge go down while he was driving.

“First the central pylon crumbled, then the whole thing came down.”

Another 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”.