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ITALY-ACCIDENT
Italy buries bridge collapse dead amid outrage
GENOA, Italy, Aug 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Italy was preparing an official day
of mourning Saturday to commemorate the dozens of people killed in Genoa’s
bridge disaster with some outraged relatives of victims set to shun the
official ceremonies.
The populist government has blamed the operator of the viaduct for
Tuesday’s collapse that killed at least 38 people in the northern Italian
city and threatened to strip the firm of its contracts.
Authorities have planned a state funeral service on Saturday at a hall in
Genoa, coinciding with a day of mourning.
Relatives who gathered at the hall on Friday embraced and prayed over lines
of coffins, many adorned with flowers and photographs of the dead.
But according to La Stampa newspaper, the families of 17 victims have
refused to take part, while a further seven have yet to decide whether they
will attend.
“It is the state who has provoked this; let them not show their faces, the
parade of politicians is shameful,” the press cited the mother of one of four
young Italians from Naples who died.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte are
due to preside over the state funeral.
The father of another of the dead from Naples took to social media to vent
his anger.
“My son will not become a number in the catalogue of deaths caused by
Italian failures,” said his grieving father, Roberto.
“We do not want a farce of a funeral but a ceremony at home.”
The government has accused infrastructure giant Autostrade per L’Italia of
failing to invest in sufficient maintenance and said it would seek to revoke
its lucrative contracts.
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini demanded that the company offer up to 500
million euros ($570 million) to help families and local government deal with
the aftermath of the disaster.
The dead also include children, one as young as eight, and three Chileans
and four French nationals.
– State of emergency –
The Morandi viaduct dates from the 1960s and has been riddled with
structural problems for decades, leading to expensive maintenance and severe
criticism from engineering experts.
Its collapse prompted fears over ageing infrastructure across the world.
Italy has announced a year-long state of emergency in the region.
Autostrade, which operates and maintains nearly half of Italy’s motorways,
estimates it will take five months to rebuild the bridge.
It denies scrimping on motorway maintenance, saying it has invested over
one billion euros a year in “safety, maintenance and strengthening of the
network” since 2012.
Atlantia, the holding company of Autostrade which is 30 percent owned by
iconic fashion brand Benetton, has warned that the government would have to
refund the value of the contract, which runs until at least 2038.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Autostrade “had the duty and
obligation to assure the maintenance of this viaduct and the security of all
those who travelled on it.”
BSS/AFP/GMR/0950 hrs