The Italians are investigating the bridge collapse, criticism is directed at the operator

On the busy A10 motorway in Genoa, a section of the bridge collapsed, measuring possibly up to two hundred meters in length. About 35 personal cars and several trucks, including a Czech truck whose driver survived and is not in life-threatening condition according to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, fell from a height of 45 meters.

The Italian agency ANSA, citing the Ministry of the Interior, reported that among the victims are three children aged eight, 12, and 13 years. According to the media, there are also three young French nationals, three Chileans, and two Albanians among the dead. Ten out of the 16 injured are in critical condition, reported the television RaiNews24.

The bridge "did not collapse by tragic accident, but because maintenance was not carried out," believes Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio, leader of the ruling Five Star Movement (M5S). "Those responsible have names and surnames; it is (the company) Autostrade per l'Italia," Di Maio stated. Autostrade was supposed to carry out maintenance but failed to do so. It collected one of the highest tolls in Europe while paying some of the lowest taxes, additionally in Luxembourg.

However, Di Maio's party has not escaped criticism after the disaster - some M5S MPs in 2013 questioned the ambitious and costly repairs of the bridge as a waste of money. A document from 2013, in which M5S compared the threat of the bridge collapse to a "children's fairy tale," has now disappeared from the party's website, reported Politico.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini stated that, at the government's request, aging bridges and tunnels across the country will be inspected. According to him, the Italian government must allocate more funds for infrastructure and not take the budgetary rules of the European Union into account. Salvini is also the leader of the eurosceptic League.

The BBC news site pointed out that while in 2006 Italy allocated over 14 billion euros (359.7 billion CZK) for roads, after the financial crisis in 2008 the amount fell to below four billion euros (102.8 billion CZK).

"As soon as the search for the dead and missing is over, the investigation will begin, and all aspects of the project, implementation, and maintenance of the bridge will be analyzed," warned Genoa prosecutor Francesco Cozzi. According to him, it will first be determined what maintenance was carried out on the bridge and exactly what happened on Tuesday, namely whether the collapse of the bridge was triggered by something. Subsequently, the prosecution will appropriately take action against the responsible authorities and companies.

The bridge, built between 1963 and 1967 based on a design by the then-celebrated architect Riccardo Morandi, has been problematic from the very beginning, claims engineer Antonio Brencich. It had to undergo its first maintenance only about 20 years after it was put into operation. Rapid deterioration of the used material - prestressed concrete - was evident from the very start of the construction. The bridge was "poorly conceived, poorly designed, and likely poorly constructed," Brencich told RaiNews.

"Attributing the collapse of the bridge to the storm is pure madness," the architect responded when asked whether rain could have played a role in the disaster. He is equally skeptical regarding reports that lightning struck the bridge and that this was the cause of the disaster.

Firefighters warned this afternoon that one of the bridge's pillars is leaning and that they are ensuring its stability. As a result, the removal of debris and the search for the dead and survivors in the riverbed of the Poncevera, which runs beneath the bridge, were interrupted. The mayor of Genoa stated that the houses on Fillak Street under the pillar cannot be preserved because the bridge will likely be demolished.