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At least 10 to 20 people still missing in Genoa bridge tragedy

The Local/AFP
The Local/AFP - [email protected]
At least 10 to 20 people still missing in Genoa bridge tragedy
Rescue teams continue to search through the rubble on August 16th at the site of the Morandi Bridge collapse. Photo: Piero Cruciatti/AFP.

The death toll in the Morandi Bridge tragedy in Genoa is set to rise.

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According to the latest figures from the local government in Genoa, 38 people (the same source had said 39 earlier in the day on August 15th but that number has since been updated) have been declared dead and identified since the Morandi Bridge collapsed on Tuesday August 14th. Fifteen remain injured with nine in a critical condition.

The dead include children aged eight, 12 and 13, according to Interior Minister Salvini, while three Chileans and four French nationals are among those killed. 

The Genoa Public Prosecutor Francesco Cozzi said between 10 and 20 people could still be missing in a video interview with Italian daily Repubblica. 

"The absolute priority is the identification of more potential victims under the rubble," said Cozzi. He added that guaranteeing the safety of emergency services personnel working at the site, as well as the safety of nearby residents, remain "priorities." 

READ ALSO: Hundreds homeless after Morandi Bridge collapse 

Public Prosecutor Cozzi and his team are reviewing all video material and other evidence available and are considering charging the relevant stakeholders with multiple negligent homicide and culpable disaster. "It was not a fatality, but a human error," said Cozzi, as reported by RAI News. At this stage, he added, it is too early to deem who is responsible and what exactly caused the bridge to collapse

Fire fighters continue to search through the rubble for survivors on Thursday August 16th.

 
 
With people still missing under huge piles of concrete, rescue workers clambered across the rubble hoping to find survivors.
 
Fire official Emanuele Gissi said the unstable mountains of debris made the search operation dangerous. "We are still looking for cavities that can hide people, living or not," he said, adding that the round the clock search had failed to find any more victims overnight.
 
Cranes and bulldozers worked to help clear the site as rescuers try to cut the biggest hunks of concrete and remove them. "Then our personnel will try to see if there are any positive signs," Gissi said.
 
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini called on motorway operator Atlantia, which was responsible for the maintenance of the A10 motorway where the Morandi Bridge collapsed, to pay €500 million in compensation to the families of the victims and the survivors, according to Repubblica. 
 
 
 

 

 

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