Death toll climbs to 39 following a highway disaster in the Italian port city of Genoa on Tuesday. A bridge which is already a decade old collapsed, sending dozens of cars and trucks plunging nearly a hundred and fifty feet into the ground. Meanwhile, authorities warn of more incidents such as this, as the country's aging bridge and tunnel infrastructure bears the growing traffic volume.
A raw footage cited by ABC captured the horrifying incident which claimed several lives, right on the spot. In the video, an estimated 80 meters length of the Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, Italy, caved into the ground.
In the recent update, the local government led by Giovanni Toti, the governor of Liguria requested the central Roman government to declare the region under a state of emergency, which was duly granted to run for the duration of 12 months.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also announced the release of 5 million Euros taken from the national emergency fund to help answer the immediate need for relief in the affected area.
Rome will also be declaring a national day of mourning which will reportedly "coincide with the funerals of the victims."
Conte has also ordered the revocation of the contract of the private company, Autostrade per I'Italia, which was commissioned by the government to operate and maintain the said bridge.
As of the time of this writing, there were already 39 confirmed casualties of the structural failure, the latest report from BBC indicates.
Most of those who perished were Italians, but there were also French nationals who were included in the list.
The search and rescue operation meanwhile confirmed other victims of Albanian, Chilean and Peruvian nationalities.
Meanwhile, more than 400 people were ordered to evacuate from the area. Authorities were also prompting several residents nearby to ready themselves for immediate clearing once the situation requires. Homes around the fallen bridge were already showing cracks, posing a further risk for those living in it.
Rescue Operations On-going
Hundreds of rescue volunteers, firefighters, and even those of the police force have been working overnight since Wednesday to search for any survivors and locate dead bodies buried under the debris.
Heavy equipment provided by the government and several other sectors were also in the scene to help speed up the human efforts.
More At Risk
Apparently, the Morandi highway bridge is not the only structure at risk of falling. A report from Telegraph said that almost 70 percent of Italy's bridge and tunnel infrastructures are old, some of them are already more than 40 years old.
Majority of these structures were built during the post-war era and are now deemed incapable of handling the ever-growing Italian traffic.
