The company in charge of the Genoa bridge in northwestern Italy, which collapsed Tuesday and killed at least 42 people and injured dozens more, said during a news conference Saturday it planned to rebuild the bridge.
The Italian toll-road operator Autostrade per l'Italia will use the roughly $572 million it had for disaster recovery to put toward the rebuilding costs.
Autostrade Chief Executive Giovanni Castellucci also told reporters he would not be stepping down from his position, despite the government requesting the company's top managers to resign over the deadly collapse.
The bridge, called the Ponte Morandi, was originally built in the 1960s and connected Genoa with southern France. A 650-foot section of the bridge suddenly came crashing down during lunchtime traffic Tuesday. The portion of the collapsed bridge was reportedly suspended 165 feet above the buildings and structures it came crashing down on.
The scene was originally described as "apocalyptic" by witnesses as rescue crews raced to save the injured and continued to search for survivors buried beneath the tons of rubble.
Video footage taken nearby showed part of the bridge collapsing in the midst of a foggy and stormy day.
It's still unknown what exactly led to the bridge collapse, but local media suggested the bridge structurally failed as a result of a violent storm.
Violento nubifragio #Genova #crollo parte del viadotto Polcevera-Morandi Km 0,200 su autostrada A10
— Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) August 14, 2018
Uscita obbligatoria Genova aeroporto direzione Ventimiglia
Uscita obbligatoria bivio A10 con A7 direzione Genova @StradeAnas @DPCgov @emergenzavvf @Viminale @ComunediGenova pic.twitter.com/7YJINjFWRX
#14agosto #Genova #crollo #PonteMorandi Polcevera Morandi @VAIstradeanas @DPCgov @emergenzavvf @Viminale @ComunediGenova @StradeAnas @112_ITALIA pic.twitter.com/SHJpMngAqD
— Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) August 14, 2018
#14ago #Genova 12:00, crolla parte del ponte Morandi sulla #A10. Le squadre #vigilidelfuoco stanno operando in massa, attivatinteam usar e cinofili pic.twitter.com/gjSJLvjw1K
— Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) August 14, 2018
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Ramsey Touchberry is a Washington Correspondent for Newsweek based in the nation's capital, where he regularly covers Congress.
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