The bodies of a family of three, an Italian-Jamaican couple and their daughter, were found in their badly crushed car. The Morandi Bridge collapsed on Tuesday, killing 43 people.
Image: Getty Images/J.Taylor
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The search operation for those missing after a motorway bridge collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa ended overnight into Sunday after the last three bodies were found.
Officials put the official death toll at 43, after the remains of an Italian-Jamaican family of three — including their 9-year-old daughter — were retrieved from their car.
Searching the rubble
Italy's national fire department wrote on Twitter that recovery teams would continue inspecting the scene of the collapse "to rule out the possible presence of persons not reported as missing."
The bridge, which connects the city's eastern and western sides, was part of the A10 motorway that links the port city with the French border. It had been operational since 1967 and was managed by toll-road operator Autostrade per l'Italia, a unit of the infrastructure group Atlantia.
The collapse, which happened during a thunderstorm, has initially been blamed on structural weakness. The bridge had been undergoing operational maintenance, according to Italian media reports.
Autostrade, whose leading shareholder is the fashion label family Benetton, has denied any negligence. The firm pledged half a billion euros on Saturday to rebuild the bridge and assist the families of the victims.
Can an investigation into the bridge collapse placate an angry public? DW's Charlotte Chelsom-Pill from Genoa
02:37
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The Genoa branch of Italy's Interior Ministry updated a list of those who died in the collapse. They included four people from France, three from Chile, two from Albania, two from Romania, two from Jamaica and one each from Colombia and Peru.
Nine people are still in hospital, four in a critical condition, it said.
Grief turns to anger
Saturday was also a national day of mourning, in which state funerals were held in Genoa for only 18 of the victims. Some of the families of the dead preferred to hold private ceremonies citing a desire for privacy or anger with authorities.
On Sunday, the government announced plans to check and repair Italy's motorways, bridges and viaducts, to ensure its aging infrastructure was safe.
Giancarlo Giorgetti, undersecretary in the prime minister's office and a leading member of the League party, did not specify the cost of the plan but said "deficit, GDP or European rules did not matter."
Work begins demolishing collapsed Genoa bridge
The Italian port city of Genoa has begun demolishing the Morandi Bridge after its collapse last August, which killed 43 people and injured dozens more. DW takes a look at the disaster and its aftermath.
Image: Reuters/S. Rellandini
Demolition begins
Experts have begun dismantling the remains of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, six months after its collapse. A 40-meter section of the motorway flyover was due to be cut, lowered and destroyed – an important step with "high symbolic value" for the town, according to Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci.
Image: Reuters/S. Rellandini
Cars plunged into void
The 80-meter section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed on August 14 amid torrential downpours and violent storms. At least 35 cars and heavy vehicles are believed to have been on the section when it caved in, causing them to plunge some 45 meters.
Image: Reuters/Str
Rescuers toiled through the night
Rescue workers scoured the wreckage through the night in hopes of finding more survivors. Alongside firefighters and emergency services, some 1,000 locals volunteered to help with the rescue efforts.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V. Hache
900-ton concrete slab
Thousands of tonnes of steel, concrete and asphalt have already been removed to prepare for the demolition, but the eight-hour operation on Friday will see a 900-ton slab cut and destroyed. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninello have traveled to Genoa to oversee the beginning of the operation.
Image: Reuters/M. Pinca
Renzo Piano replacement
Italy's most famous living architect Renzo Piano, a Genoa native widely known for the Pompidou Center in Paris, has designed the replacement bridge. It will feature 43 streetlamps in memory of the 43 killed in the collapse. At €202 million ($229 million), the bridge will be one of the most expensive in Europe. It is scheduled to open to traffic by April 2020.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Leoni
'Immense tragedy'
The bridge collapse killed 43 people and injured dozens more. Italy's transport minister Danilo Toninelli described the incident as an "immense tragedy." International leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron, paid tribute to the victims.
Image: Reuters/S. Rellandini
Children among those killed
The morning after the collapse, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said that three children – aged 8, 12 and 13 — were among those killed.
Image: Reuters/Str
Italy's busy motorway viaduct
The bridge over the northwestern port city was one of Italy's main viaducts, connecting the A10 motorway towards France and the A7 up to Milan. The incident also took place on the eve of Ferragosto, a major Italian holiday, meaning there was likely more traffic than usual.
Tragedy sparks political fallout
Italy's Giuseppe Conte interrupted his holiday to visit the scene of the collapse. While Conte reserved his words to praise the rescue workers, his ministers started pointing fingers. Transport Minister Toninelli said the company managing Italy's highways would have its contract revoked. However, his 5Star Movement party has been criticized for downplaying the need for infrastructure investments.
Image: Reuters/M. Pinca
Cause of collapse still unknown
While the precise reason behind the disaster is still unknown, investigators believe it could have been caused by lightning, an engineering failure or corrosion. Prosecutors have place 20 people under investigation, as well as the privately-owned highway operator Autostrade per l'Italia. The bridge had been in use for around 50 years, close to the recommended limit.
