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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.'
The disaster occurred on a highway that connects Italy to France and other vacation resorts on the eve of a major Italian holiday
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.
The bridge was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s and was restructured in 2016
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.
The Morandi bridge (pictured before the collapse)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ses-Genoa.html
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