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ITALY-ACCIDENT-UPDATE
Italy buries bridge collapse dead as outrage simmers
GENOA, Italy, Aug 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Italy will hold a state funeral
service Saturday to commemorate dozens of people killed in Genoa’s bridge
disaster, as some outraged relatives vowed to shun official ceremonies and
rescuers pulled more bodies from the wreckage.
The service, which coincides with a national day of mourning, came as
firefighters still searching for five missing people discovered a car with
human remains inside.
The Civil Protection authorities did not comment on the number of victims
but local media reported a family of three were discovered, including a nine-
year-old girl, adding to the death toll of 38.
The populist government has blamed the operator of the viaduct for
Tuesday’s collapse in the northern port city and threatened to strip the firm
of its contracts.
Adorned with flowers and photographs, 18 coffins — including a small
white one for the youngest eight-year-old victim who died alongside his
parents — lined an exhibition centre transformed into a chapel on Saturday
morning, according to an AFP reporter.
Firefighters were applauded as they entered the hall ahead of the
ceremony, due to begin at 11:30 am (0930 GMT.
But more than half of the families of the victims have refused to take
part, some preferring a more intimate funeral while others announced a
boycott.
“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.
Roberto, father of another of the dead from Naples used social media to
vent his anger: “My son will not become a number in the catalogue of deaths
caused by Italian failures.”
“We do not want a farce of a funeral but a ceremony at home.”
Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who is expected to lead the mass, expressed
his respect for those who refused state funerals.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte are
due to preside over the state funeral, which local media say will also be
attended by senior staff of Autostrade per L’Italia, the managing company of
the highway.
– State of emergency –
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 and three Chileans and four French
nationals.
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.
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/IJ/1430 hrs