“A different Italy can come out of this trial,” said Egle Possetti, head of the committee for victims of the disaster.
“It’s the tip of an iceberg because it’s not just the Morandi bridge that had problems but the country’s entire infrastructure that has to be controlled in a proper manner,” According to her, Ansa News Agency.
The bridge connected northern Italy and France across the A10 through Genoa. On August 14, 2018, a 200m (656ft) part of the bridge collapsed after a storm, sending scores of automobiles tumbling 45 metres to the dry riverbed below.
The catastrophe is attributed to wires that were embedded in a bridge pillar’s concrete but were corroded by sea air. Many of the 59 defendants on trial worked for the engineering firm Spea and the company Autostrade per Italia (Aspi), which was in charge of maintaining the bridge.
The majority of them are accused of knowing the bridge would fall but doing nothing, and each defendant refutes this accusation. Charges include multiple manslaughter, willfully eliminating safety precautions from the workplace, and endangering the safety of transportation.
A girl whose car was struck by concrete fragments informed me that they fell like sand. While a truck beneath the bridge was demolished and its driver managed to flee while his face was covered in blood, cars began to fall from the bridge.
In record speed, a brand-new bridge was constructed. Genoa, however, and her inhabitants are still enraged, saddened, and closely following this trial.
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Gianluca Ardini, a survivor, stated outside the court on Thursday that he felt forced to attend the trial in order to be with the relatives of the victims. He was rescued with severe injuries after spending hours trapped in his van 20 metres above the earth. His coworker passed away.
The authorities of Aspi knew how poorly that terrible bridge had been maintained, yet they chose to take no action in order to increase their profits, which is a disgrace.
One of the most well-known defendants is former Aspi CEO Giovanni Castellucci. The trial would reveal that a building flaw was to blame for the accident, according to his attorney, who stressed the importance of establishing the facts surrounding the bridge collapse.
Despite the fact that certain Aspi and Spea leaders and employees are defendants, the businesses themselves have previously reached an out-of-court deal with prosecutors. Since the bridge fell, the highway corporation itself has been renationalized. There are 178 witnesses on the prosecution’s list, including the company’s current CEO, Roberto Tomasi.
It was a painful day, but a very significant one, Ms. Possetti told reporters outside the court. She lost her sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews in the collapse. “Today we are starting a long and arduous path that will bring justice and truth to our family,” the statement reads.
Anyone interested in watching the trial progress has a place to view outside the court. The case was continued until July of next year after Thursday’s opening hearing, which was presided over by three judges and was postponed until September.
Since then, a brand-new bridge built by architect Renzo Piano, a Genoese native, has replaced the ancient Morandi bridge.
