Governor Giovanni Toti of the Liguria region, where the bridge collapsed, addressed the press regarding the incident that took lives of dozens. He shared that the current objectives for the authorities are to rescue those who are still alive, find the bodies of the deceased and restore the traffic flow.
"In the upcoming days we will meet with the government to discuss what should we do about the bridge as it is obvious that it needs to be restored," Toti said.
He also assured that firefighters and emergency services are currently inspecting the remaining sections of the bridge to ensure they won't collapse too.
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Sputnik discussed the incident with professor Andrea Prota from the University of Napoli Federico II. When asked about the reasons behind Italy's frequent bridge and highway collapses, he explained that the road infrastructure in the country is quite old and in the case of Ponti Morandi, 50 years is a lot.
"Like automobiles, bridges and buildings must undergo technical inspections and always be under supervision. All structures under control of such agencies as ANAS [National Autonomous Roads Corporation ] and Autostrade S.P.A. must be supervised following very strict protocols," Prota said.
At the same time, the professor urged residents not to give in to panic regarding the infrastructure in Italy in general, though he admitted that the country has issues with redistributing finances used for maintaining bridges in operational condition.
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Several sections of the 50-year-old Ponti Morandi bridge collapsed on August 14 at around 11:30 a.m. local time, with some 20 cars falling 45 meters to the ground below. The incident claimed lives of 35 people, leaving many severely injured. Conflicting reports suggest that from two to eight people have been rescued from the rubble. The reasons for the collapse have not yet been determined.
