Shocking: 'apocalyptic scene' in Italy as bridge collapses killing dozens

[wvwvw]

Breaking News: Dozens are feared dead after a 650ft section of a highway bridge suddenly collapsed during a storm in Genoa, Italy.

Cars fell 300ft into a river, railroad tracks and buildings when the Morandi bridge gave way at 11.30am local time.

The head of the local ambulance service said there were 'dozens of dead' in what the transport minister called 'an immense tragedy.'

One witness described the carnage as an 'apocalyptic scene.'

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/14/12/4F1570F600000578-6058937-image-a-38_1534246114325.jpg
The disaster occurred on a highway that connects Italy to France and other vacation resorts on the eve of a major Italian holiday

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/14/12/4F1575E500000578-6058937-image-a-36_1534246100328.jpg
Destruction: Cars fell 300ft when the the bridge gave way at 11.30am local time. Shocking images showed the bridge half collapsed

A witness told Sky Italia television he saw 'eight or nine' vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed. Video captured a man screaming 'oh god, oh, god' as the bridge went down.

Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said in a tweet that he was 'following with great apprehension what seems like an immense tragedy.'

Some 600ft of the Morandi bridge collapsed over an industrial zone, raising concerns gas lines may have been damaged.

The disaster occurred on a highway that connects Italy to France and other vacation resorts on the eve of a major Italian holiday, Ferragosto meaning traffic would have been heavier than usual as many Italians traveled to beaches or mountains.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/14/12/4F15846C00000578-6058937-image-a-63_1534247934479.jpg
The bridge was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s and was restructured in 2016

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/14/13/4F15BEF200000578-6058937-image-a-69_1534248139422.jpg

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/14/13/4F15B51C00000578-6058937-image-a-71_1534248145527.jpg

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/14/13/4F15BEBB00000578-6058937-image-a-77_1534248174406.jpg

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/14/13/4F15BEE600000578-6058937-image-a-76_1534248162313.jpg

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said some 200 firefighters were responding to the accident.

'We are following minute by minute the situation for the bridge collapse in Genoa,' Salvini said on Twitter.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/08/14/12/4F15595800000578-6058937-The_Morandi_bridge_pictured_before_the_collapse_we nt_down_due_to-a-33_1534246050917.jpg
The Morandi bridge (pictured before the collapse)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6058937/Huge-section-highway-bridge-collapses-Genoa.html

[1R0N M4N XL]

poor engineering..

[Ülev]

poor engineering..

bad storm weather: https://weather.com/news/news/2018-08-14-genoa-italy-bridge-collapse

Officials said a storm might have played a factor in a bridge collapse Tuesday in Genoa, Italy.

http://www.14news.com/story/38878658/bridge-collapse-in-italy-kills-at-least-11-media-reports

Some witnesses claim a lightning bolt hit the bridge, causing the collapse, Ansa reported.

[1R0N M4N XL]

bad storm weather: https://weather.com/news/news/2018-08-14-genoa-italy-bridge-collapse


http://www.14news.com/story/38878658/bridge-collapse-in-italy-kills-at-least-11-media-reports

that is one heck of storm.. the other houses seems ok but the bridge gave in.

[gıulıoımpa]

that is one heck of storm.. the other houses seems ok but the bridge gave in.
poor engineering..Mafia construction company almost sure to be blamed.

Mark my words...

They are used to do this. They dilute the concrete with junk to make it cheap.

Many bridges in the south broke due to this.

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

[Egyptian]

Corruption hits Italy and south europe again.

[Ajeje Brazorf]

Mafia construction company almost sure to be blamed.

Mark my words...

They are used to do this. They dilute the concrete with junk to make it cheap.

Many bridges in the south broke due to this.

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

Why do you always need to throw shit on the south in every occasion? "Mafias" have nothing to do with the construction of this bridge and most of the bridges fallen down in the last years are not in the south. The mafia-run south has shitty infrastructures but at least there no bridge has ever collapsed causing 30+ deaths. The dangers of Ponte Morandi were well known and nobody did anything to fix it.

[gıulıoımpa]

Why do you always need to throw shit on the south in every occasion? "Mafias" have nothing to do with the construction of this bridge and most of the bridges fallen down in the last years are not in the south. The mafia-run south has shitty infrastructures but at least there no bridge has ever collapsed causing 30+ deaths. The dangers of Ponte Morandi were well known and nobody did anything to fix it.

I don't throw shit on the south unlike some other italian or proclaimed italian users , i am quite neutral coming from both sides of the family.

To say mafia is only in the south is wrong , is a nation wide problem.
Just because i call it mafia i don't mean exclusively sicilian crime.
Organized crime it probably is call ot how you wish.

Remeber the various cavalcavia fallen down?

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

[Ajeje Brazorf]

I don't throw shit on the south unlike some other italian or proclaimed italian users , i am quite neutral coming from both sides of the family.

To say mafia is only in the south is wrong , is a nation wide problem.
Just because i call it mafia i don't mean exclusively sicilian crime.
Organized crime it probably is call ot how you wish.

Remeber the various cavalcavia fallen down?

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

You are missing my point, what I'm trying to make you understand is that criminality has nothing to do with the construction of Morandi Bridge (1963-1967) and mafias are not to blame. By saying the opposite, you are spreading disinformation. Morandi (the designer, not the singer) also designed another bridge which fell down in South America many years ago. Most of fallen down bridges and overpasses are not in Sicily, as I stated in the previous post.

[Oneeye]

RIP

[♥ Lily ♥]

poor engineering..


Mafia construction company almost sure to be blamed.

Mark my words...

They are used to do this. They dilute the concrete with junk to make it cheap.



Corruption hits Italy and south europe again.

What kind of shameless people make snide remarks like that? :eek:

The depravity of such low-level comments during a tragedy makes me feel sick. No remorse shown for the victims... they just callously use a tragedy as an opportunity to slander Italians. Like sharks searching for their prey.

This is not the time for such insensitive, snide, and off-hand digs like that. It's a time for remorse and help.

The bridge collapsed due to a storm. Otherwise you may as well blame the San Francisco motorway bridge collapse during an earthquake on 'poor engineering'. :picard1:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4LFu91Xrw0

You can find examples like this in every nation where a structure has collapsed due to extreme weather or geological factors. The adage 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones' springs to mind in situations like this;- check your own nations shit before attacking others.

My condolences for the victims (R.I.P.) and their friends relatives. :(

If Italy needs extra help sent there to clear all that rubble, etc, I'd like to think the UK government and other Europeans will assist in sending help.

Italy and some other European nations recently sent extra helicopters to Sweden to help tackle their Arctic bush fires.... and Europeans should help Italy in return. Europeans should help each other out during a time of crisis. I'm sure Italy will manage though since they're one of the richest and most productive nations in the EU.

As for architects and engineering... Italy has some of the world's finest.... including Renzo Piano (who designed the energy-efficient and elegant and very high-quality Shard skyscraper in London, with angled glass that creates a different appearance according to the weather and seasons.... and has mega-fast kaleidoscope elevators inside to take tourists to the viewing deck on the top floor in a matter of seconds.)

Designed by Renzo Piano...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoBcMT7BsGY

Italian architect and designer David Fisher is designing the world's first innovative rotating skyscraper. The floors will be built in Italy by Italian engineers, and then the rotating floors of the skyscraper will be shipped in pieces and transported to Dubai.

Remember who makes Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

(Sorry that's a little bit OT, but I just wanted to point this out for those who are resorting to attacking Italian designers, architects, and engineers.)

Funds being given for materials are equally as important as the engineering work.

R.I.P.

Designed by Italian architect David Fisher... (yes, he's got an English name, but he's an Italian citizen who was born and raised and educated in Italy. He studied architecture and engineering at the University of Florence. After graduation he served as a lecturer of architecture and structural engineering at the same university.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4kMQzgiytA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-cfB6xFSKM

[Vid Flumina]

Hey bitches, the bridge collapsed due to a storm.


Are you serious?

[Wadaad]

Roman civil engineers and aquedact builders are rolling in their graves...and they say Italians = Romans. Just lol

[Profileid]

She's criticizing an Italian for attacking Italians. :picard2:

[♥ Lily ♥]

She's criticizing an Italian for attacking Italians. :picard2:

*Southern Italians. :picard1:

My mother has travelled and visited sites all over Italy and she said they have amazing architecture there.

Viva L'Italia! :)

[♥ Lily ♥]

Are you serious?

Yeah, are you?!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqqyMs236h4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj6InHs2BA4

[♥ Lily ♥]

poor engineering..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJXS7s_PC6c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFkSuiPZzzk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOekpZv28Uo

[gıulıoımpa]

You are missing my point, what I'm trying to make you understand is that criminality has nothing to do with the construction of Morandi Bridge (1963-1967) and mafias are not to blame. By saying the opposite, you are spreading disinformation. Morandi (the designer, not the singer) also designed another bridge which fell down in South America many years ago. Most of fallen down bridges and overpasses are not in Sicily, as I stated in the previous post.You are right, there is not any conclusive reason as now.
but fishy business is the first thing i thought about.
Bridges should not fall like that...

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

[Nurzat]

Mafia construction company almost sure to be blamed.

Mark my words...

They are used to do this. They dilute the concrete with junk to make it cheap.

Many bridges in the south broke due to this.

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

I remember such a portion of a bridge, but smaller and with no cars passing at the moment, falling in Calabria while I was visiting some years ago. the height was comparable or it was even taller (south of Cosenza)

[gıulıoımpa]

I remember such a portion of a bridge, but smaller and with no cars passing at the moment, falling in Calabria while I was visiting some years ago. the height was comparable or it was even taller (south of Cosenza)

Went to cosenza some time ago, it's overpass land. It seems like they build even too many of them.

There the problem with fishy business construction is well known and caused many deaths...

The thing is when those kind of illegal activites inflitrate private construction companies that are given permission to build.
Autostrada special bridges and overpasses (built directly by the state and those are impressive especially one that cross mountain ranges in central Italy) are super solid.

I don't know which would be worse ; If the bridge collapsed because of strong storm or dubious construction...

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

[Böri]

Sad. Once upon a time these Genoans were best engineers in economics and shipbuilding. They were owning part of Constantinople too (Pera). Cultures and people can have ups and downs through time.

[1R0N M4N XL]

Mafia construction company almost sure to be blamed.

Mark my words...

They are used to do this. They dilute the concrete with junk to make it cheap.

Many bridges in the south broke due to this.

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

if that were true, i'm sure they will be some sort of government investigation coming up if corruption was involved..

[1R0N M4N XL]

What kind of shameless people make snide remarks like that? :eek:

The depravity of such low-level comments during a tragedy makes me feel sick. No remorse shown for the victims... they just callously use a tragedy as an opportunity to slander Italians. Like sharks searching for their prey.

This is not the time for such insensitive, snide, and off-hand digs like that. It's a time for remorse and help.

The bridge collapsed due to a storm. Otherwise you may as well blame the San Francisco motorway bridge collapse during an earthquake on 'poor engineering'. :picard1:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4LFu91Xrw0

You can find examples like this in every nation where a structure has collapsed due to extreme weather or geological factors. The adage 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones' springs to mind in situations like this;- check your own nations shit before attacking others.

My condolences for the victims (R.I.P.) and their friends relatives. :(

If Italy needs extra help sent there to clear all that rubble, etc, I'd like to think the UK government and other Europeans will assist in sending help.

Italy and some other European nations recently sent extra helicopters to Sweden to help tackle their Arctic bush fires.... and Europeans should help Italy in return. Europeans should help each other out during a time of crisis. I'm sure Italy will manage though since they're one of the richest and most productive nations in the EU.

As for architects and engineering... Italy has some of the world's finest.... including Renzo Piano (who designed the energy-efficient and elegant and very high-quality Shard skyscraper in London, with angled glass that creates a different appearance according to the weather and seasons.... and has mega-fast kaleidoscope elevators inside to take tourists to the viewing deck on the top floor in a matter of seconds.)

Designed by Renzo Piano...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoBcMT7BsGY

Italian architect and designer David Fisher is designing the world's first innovative rotating skyscraper. The floors will be built in Italy by Italian engineers, and then the rotating floors of the skyscraper will be shipped in pieces and transported to Dubai.

Remember who makes Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

(Sorry that's a little bit OT, but I just wanted to point this out for those who are resorting to attacking Italian designers, architects, and engineers.)

Funds being given for materials are equally as important as the engineering work.

R.I.P.

Designed by Italian architect David Fisher... (yes, he's got an English name, but he's an Italian citizen who was born and raised and educated in Italy. He studied architecture and engineering at the University of Florence. After graduation he served as a lecturer of architecture and structural engineering at the same university.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4kMQzgiytA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-cfB6xFSKM

it wasn't meant to be offensive... its just its weird that the other houses were fine.. the other buildings seems to be okay... ( a storm can break down a bridge but it cannot destroy other buildings) ... the see most of the windows seems ok...


my heart goes out to the people of Italy who are affected by this..

[gıulıoımpa]

if that were true, i'm sure they will be some sort of government investigation coming up if corruption was involved..We will only know after some investigations. Rightly some Italian users were angry at me because the real technical caused for the collapse are yet unknown of course. I only expressed what is my feeling about this, knowing some other similar cases and what they ended up discovering.

We will see. RIP for all the lost souls.

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

[1R0N M4N XL]

Yeah, are you?!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqqyMs236h4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj6InHs2BA4



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJXS7s_PC6c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFkSuiPZzzk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOekpZv28Uo

my heart goes out for the Italian victim.. I didnt mean it negative way.. the bridge has been around 50 years I think from the report I read.

but after looking at this photos. & read the comments in youtube( people who claimed to use the bridge).. its where I got my conclusion.
the rest of bridge were ok.. but the middle part was the vulnerable part.

https://dailyonnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/1534290370_574_at-least-26-dead-after-cars-plunge-off-collapsed-bridge-in-italy-officials.jpg

http://www.bostonmail.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/before-and-after-the-italy-bridge-collapse.jpg

[Kamal900]

This is scary. RIP to the victims.

[wvwvw]

You are right, there is not any conclusive reason as now.
but fishy business is the first thing i thought about.
Bridges should not fall like that...

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

Bridges need maintenance

What is certainly indisputable is that Italy's investment in its road network has declined alarmingly. OECD data published by the BBC shows that while Germany, France and the UK have all poured money into their roads in recent years, Italian investment fell from €13.66 billion in 2007 to just €3.39 billion in 2010.

The figure only climbed to just over €5 billion by 2015, far behind Germany (€11.69 billion), France (€10.01 billion) and the UK (€9.07 billion).

https://infographic.statista.com/normal/chartoftheday_15079_investment_in_european_roads_n .jpg

[wvwvw]

Italy’s NATO Racket... A Bridge Too Far
By Finian Cunningham
Strategic Culture
August 17, 2018

The catastrophic bridge collapse in Italy this week has prompted a public outcry over the country’s crumbling infrastructure and how it is putting lives at risk. But the question the public in Italy and across Europe should be asking is: why are their governments spending extra tens of billions of dollars on NATO militarism, while neglecting vital civilian infrastructure?

When the iconic Morandi motorway viaduct came crashing down this week over the city of Genoa – with a death toll so far of 39 people – the consensus among Italian news media and members of the public is that the bridge was a disaster waiting to happen.

Nearly 200 meters of the motorway flyover section spanning a river, houses and an industrial area collapsed while dozens of cars and trucks were passing. Shocked witnesses described the scene as “apocalyptic” as vehicles plunged 40 meters along with concrete and iron girding to the ground below.

Lack of due maintenance has been blamed for why the bridge collapsed. Weather conditions at the time were reportedly torrential rain storms and lightning. But those conditions can hardly explain why a whole motorway viaduct wobbled and crashed.

The Morandi Bridge was built 51 years ago in 1967. Two years ago, an engineering professor from Genoa University warned that the viaduct needed to be totally replaced as its structure had seriously deteriorated. There seems little doubt that the disaster could have been avoided if proper action had been taken by the authorities rather than carrying out piecemeal repair jobs over the years.

Italian media reports say the latest is the fifth bridge collapse in the country over the past five years, as cited by the BBC.

Now the Italian government is calling for a nationwide survey of roads, tunnels, bridges and viaducts to assess public safety amid fears that other infrastructure facilities are prone to deadly failure.

What should be a matter of urgent public demand is why Italy is increasing its national spending on military upgrades and procurements instead of civilian amenities. As with all European members of the NATO alliance, Italy is being pressured by the United States to ramp up its military expenditure. US President Donald Trump has made the NATO budget a priority, haranguing European states to increase their military spending to a level of 2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Trump has even since doubled that figure to 4 per cent.

Washington’s demand on European allies predates Trump. At a NATO summit in 2015, when Barack Obama was president, all members of the military alliance then acceded to US pressure for greater allocation of budgets to hit the 2 per cent target. The alleged threat of Russian aggression has been cited over and over as the main reason for boosting NATO.

Figures show that Italy, as with other European countries, has sharply increased its annual military spending every year since the 2015 summit. The upward trend reverses a decade-long decline. Currently, Italy spends about $28 billion annually on military. That equates to only about 1.15 per cent of GDP, way below the US-demanded target of 2 per cent of GDP.

But the disturbing thing is that Italy’s defense minister Elisabetta Trenta reportedly gave assurances to Trump’s national security advisor John Bolton that her government was committed to hitting its NATO target in the coming years. On current figures that translates roughly into a doubling of Italy’s annual military budget.

Meanwhile, the Italian public have had to endure years of economic austerity from cutbacks in social spending and civilian infrastructure.

Rome’s new coalition government comprising the League and Five Star Movement has called for a reversal in austerity policies and has vowed to increase public investment. Its leaders, like deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, have also at times expressed a lukewarm view of NATO.

After this week’s bridge disaster, the populist coalition government has renewed its calls for more investment in public services.

Nevertheless, why then is Italy’s defense minister giving assurances that the country will adhere to Washington’s demands for increasing its NATO budget? Minister Trenta, who belongs to the Five Star Movement, says her government remains committed to buying up to 90 units of the US new-generation F35 fighter jet.

Aggregate figures show that Italy spent nearly $300 billion over the past decade on military. The previous decade’s outlay was even higher in constant dollar terms, before the financial crash in 2008. And yet the Italian government – despite its populist appeal – is planning to allocate even more resources to military over the coming years in order to meet Washington’s ultimatum for the NATO 2 per cent of GDP target. A target figure that seems wholly arbitrary and abhorrent in the light of so many urgent social needs and neglected public infrastructure.

If Italian motorway bridges are collapsing now, the future for public safety looks even bleaker when more of the country’s economy is diverted to satisfy US-led NATO demands.

Moreover, this dilemma is not confined to Italy. All European members of NATO are being railroaded by Washington to significantly expand their military budgets. President Trump has lambasted European states as “free loaders” cadging off “American protection”. Trump has singled out Germany for harassment to boost its military budget. After all the hectoring, the Europeans seem to be responding too. At the annual NATO summit held last month in Brussels, the Norwegian secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg boasted that non-US members had increased their national military budgets by an aggregate $40 billion in one year alone.

A cruel irony is that last year NATO planners complained that Europe’s infrastructure of roads, tunnels and bridges needed significant upgrades to facilitate mass-transport of military forces in case of a war with Russia. The implication was that European governments would have to increase their national spending on civilian transport networks specifically to facilitate NATO military requirements.

That is tantamount to a parasite craving for more blood from its host. Already European infrastructure is in disrepair largely because of economic austerity enforced by disproportionate spending on NATO militarism. At a time when public need for social investment is acute, European governments are obeying orders from Washington to plough more financial resources into subsidizing the American military-industrial complex. All this madcap, irrational expenditure is supposedly to keep European citizens safe from Russian threats.

All too evidently, however, the biggest threat to European citizens is the way Washington and its NATO racket is bleeding Europe of financial resources – resources which instead should be spent on building safe roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

[MinervaItalica]

It's time to stop giving money to EU and immigrants and start using for our own infrastructures...


poor engineering..

Poor maintenance...


Mafia construction company almost sure to be blamed.

Mark my words...

They are used to do this. They dilute the concrete with junk to make it cheap.

Many bridges in the south broke due to this.

Inviato dal mio SM-G389F utilizzando Tapatalk

Mafia has nothing to do with this, c'mon cut this crap... it's bad controls and maintenance.


Corruption hits Italy and south europe again.

Still less corrupted than Egypt... :laugh:

[gıulıoımpa]

Poor maintenance...



Mafia has nothing to do with this c'mon cut this crap... it's bad controls and maintenance.



Still less corrupted than Egypt... :laugh: ce l'ha con noi italici lui non so perché , bah poi in effetti dette da laggiù...


comunque come ho detto ad ajeje ho detto mafia ma intendendo criminalità ...non per forza quella siciliana.

è capace che i soldi per ristrutturare (se c'erano) se li è presi qualcuno. questa è criminalità per me e dunque mafia.