A court in Genoa on Thursday handed down its long-awaited verdict in the case of the Morandi bridge collapse, ending nearly four years of proceedings. In total, 32 people were found responsible for the disaster, receiving sentences ranging from 23 months to 12 years.
Among those convicted was Giovanni Castellucci, the former CEO of Italy’s highway operator Autostrade per l’Italia. He received the longest sentence – 12 years in prison – after being found guilty of vehicular manslaughter and negligence resulting in an accident.
Castellucci is already serving a prison sentence after pleading guilty in a separate 2013 crash in which a bus fell from an overpass, killing 40 people.
Others sentenced include managers and engineers from Autostrade’s engineering subsidiary SPEA, as well as former officials from Italy’s infrastructure and transport ministries.
What is the reason for bridge collapse?
On the morning of August 14, 2018, the 200 m (650 ft) central section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed during a storm, and 45 m (148 ft) fell to the ground below.
The decline came during the peak summer vacation season. Around 30 vehicles were traveling on the affected stretch when the route changed, resulting in the death of 43 people and injuries to 16 others.
When the bridge opened in 1967, it was considered an engineering milestone. Designed by the renowned Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi, it served as a major transportation link connecting northern Italy with the coastline and northern France.
Although reinforcement work was carried out in the 1990s, experts had warned for years that the structure was deteriorating and in need of major repairs.
Investigators later discovered that the cable on the bridge’s ninth pillar, which carried the weight of the road deck, had broken after the steel and concrete components failed.
In 2020 a new bridge opened in place of the Morandi Bridge, which is a memorial to the victims of the collapse.
Lack of maintenance made the bridge a “ticking time bomb”
During the trial, prosecutors argued that warning signs were present before the collapse, and that the defendants had demonstrated negligence in maintenance.
Castellucci, in particular, was accused of postponing much-needed work on the bridge, as a magistrate’s investigation found that “not even minimal maintenance work to strengthen the remains of pillar No. 9 was carried out” during the bridge’s five-decade existence. A prosecutor in the case described the bridge as a “ticking time bomb”.
Rafael Caruso, one of the lawyers representing the victims, argued that the trial showed that the need for maintenance had been known for a long time.
Caruso said, “Since 1993, the problem was known about. We had three similar pylons. Two already had the same malfunction, and no one seriously asked whether the third had the same malfunction.”
Family members of the victims sat in the courtroom as the verdicts were read.
Speaking outside the court, Eagle Posetti, who heads a committee commemorating the victims of the disaster, said: “I think it is important that responsibility extends beyond those at the top. Autostrade, SPEA and the Ministry of Transport all had roles to play. I hope that the responsibility of the state will also clearly emerge.”
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko
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