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Italy Marks 5th Anniversary Of Morandi Bridge Collapse With Demands For Justice For The 43 Killed
Morandi Bridge, Italy, demanded justice for the 43 people who perished in what officials claim was an instance of greed-driven incompetence on Monday as it commemorated the fifth anniversary of the collapse of Genoa’s Morandi Bridge.
At the ceremony in Genoa, Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini stated that the people who fell to their deaths weren’t the victims of a flood or other natural disaster. Instead, he claimed they had been “victims of greed, of people who didn’t do their jobs.”
On August 14, 2018, after a downpour and on the eve of Italy’s biggest summer holiday, a sizable portion of the Morandi bridge collapsed, sending vehicles careening into the dry riverbed below.
Last year, 58 people were on trial for manslaughter and other offenses. They include former Salvini ministry officials, executives, and technical specialists from the business that oversaw several of Italy’s bridges and motorways.
The defendants allegedly knew the 1960s-built bridge was in danger of collapse and that maintenance costs were slashed to save money. Given the corrosive nature of the neighboring Ligurian Sea’s wet, salty air, the bridge’s designer had advised routine maintenance to eliminate rust from the cement span.
On August 14, 2018, after a downpour and on the eve of Italy’s biggest summer holiday, a sizable portion of the Morandi bridge collapsed.
Salvini informed the gathering that he had read some of the trial’s documentation while they stood beneath the new span, which was opened in 2020 to take the place of the Morandi. He claimed he didn’t want to predict the conclusion but insisted that there was ample proof of greed and negligence.
“There were billions of euros in profits, some of which were supposed to have been reinvested in maintenance, that obviously, based on what transpired, were not invested in maintenance,” he claimed.
He further stated that he hoped that by the time of the commemorations the following year, Parliament would have approved a law that had been proposed in the wake of the collapse and would treat those injured by such public works negligence in the same way as those who had been the victims of terrorism or organized crime in terms of their right to financial compensation.
After he finished speaking, the crowd observed a minute of silence at 11:36, the exact time of the collapse, as church bells rang and sirens wailed around Genoa.
On August 14, 2018, after a downpour and on the eve of Italy’s biggest summer holiday, a sizable portion of the Morandi bridge collapsed.
A prominent group member made up of the families of the Morandi victims, Egle Possetti, addressed the crowd and said that while the Morandi families had faith in the judicial system, the trial’s progress had been depressing.
She noted the testimony of business executives and technical experts who denied any liability and said they couldn’t recall certain information, as well as proof of a transport ministry that “nearly kneeled” and accepted the word of a maintenance company it was supposed to monitor.
Numerous witnesses who were aware of the issues with this bridge but kept quiet have also given testimony. She muttered her voice breaking, “They pretended not to hear. Without even the most basic civic sense to speak out, they played with the lives of millions of people.
Italy has experienced previous bridge and highway disasters that have highlighted the deteriorating health of the aging transportation infrastructure of the country, even if the Morandi was the deadliest collapse in recent years. Salvini told the crowd that his ministry was attempting to make up for “decades of inattention” to maintaining the nation’s 21,000 bridges and viaducts.