A long-awaited trial involving key people responsible for maintaining the Ponte Morandi motorway bridge in Genoa has begun four years after it collapsed, killing 43 people.
A variety of charges are being brought against 49 people, including manslaughter or safety failures.
The families of the deceased say they don’t just want justice.
Egle Possetti, the head of the victims’ committee, stated that “a different Italy can emerge from this trial.”
She told Ansa news agency that “it’s only the tip of an Iceberg” because it wasn’t just the Morandi bridge’s problems that were problematic, but also the entire country’s infrastructure that needs to be managed in a proper way.
The bridge was located on the A10 motorway through Genoa and linked northern Italy and France. On the 14th of August 2018, a section measuring 200m (656ft), was toppled by a storm, sending many vehicles plunging 45m into the river below.
Cables, which were encased in concrete and inserted into a bridge pillar to prevent corrosion, are the culprits of the disaster. Many of the 59 people who were tested worked for Autostrade per Italia (Aspi), an Italian motorway company. Spea engineering was responsible for maintaining the bridge.
They are all accused of knowing that the bridge might collapse, but failing to act. All the defendants have denied the charges. They are charged with multiple manslaughter, multiple murder, and willfully removing safety devices from the workplace or harming transport safety.
For those who were there four years ago, the terrible disaster of torrential rains still haunts them.
When I was driving to Genoa with my parents, traffic became incredibly slow and heavy smoke rose from the air.
When I saw scooters racing back onto the wrong side, I quickly realized something was wrong. When the smoke cleared, I saw that the bridge that once connected the French and Italian Rivieras was gone. I had been under it thousands of times. Within seconds, it was gone.
The concrete chunks that hit the car of a girl who was in it, told her it was like sand. The bridge collapsed, and cars fell off the bridge. A truck beneath it was also destroyed. The driver of the truck was left with a bloody face.
In record time, a shiny new bridge was constructed. Genoa and its people remain angry and grieving, and are closely following this trial.
Survivor Gianluca Ardini, who was outside the courtroom on Thursday, said that he felt the need to attend the trial in order to be near the families of the victims. After being left in his van for several hours, he was finally rescued by rescuers with serious injuries. His colleague was also killed.
“What happened was a disgrace. The leaders of Aspi knew how badly the bridge had been looked after but didn’t intervene to make more money.”
Giovanni Castellucci, former chief executive of Aspi, is one of the most well-known defendants. His lawyer stated that it was crucial to determine the truth about the collapse of the bridge and that the trial would reveal that the cause was a construction defect.
While Aspi and Spea have a few executives and staff who are being charged, the companies themselves have reached an out-of court settlement with the prosecutors. Since the collapse of the bridge, the motorway company has been renationalized. Roberto Tomasi is the current chief executive. He is one of 178 witnesses in the prosecution.
Ms. Possetti lost her brother-in-law, sister and two nephews to the collapse. She told reporters outside court that it was a hard day, but an important one. “Today, we begin a long, tiring journey that will bring justice and truth to our families.”
Anyone who wishes to see the trial unfold was able to view it from a marquee outside the court. The case was adjourned to September by the three judges who presided over Thursday’s first hearing. It will resume next July.
Renzo Piano, a Genoa-born architect, has replaced the old Morandi bridge.
