A four-lane bridge in the Italian city of Genoa collapsed Tuesday in stormy weather, sending cars plummeting 150 feet and leaving at least 35 people dead, including three children aged eight, 12 and 13 years old.
At least 20 cars were on the bridge, part of a highway that connects the port city with the French border to the west, when it fell.
Mangled trucks and cars littered a dry part of the Polcevera riverbed, while more than 200 firefighters worked to dig through the wreckage, sometimes with their bare hands. Rescue workers carried people on stretchers to waiting helicopters. First responders used ropes to flip over cars and covered the righted vehicles with white sheets to hide the bodies inside.
Autostrade per l’Italia, the company that runs the highway, said work had been in progress to improve the bridge’s foundations. The bridge was under “constant” monitoring, the company said.
