Italy Court Finds 32 People Guilty Over Deadly Genoa Bridge Collapse

An Italian court has convicted 32 defendants, including former executives of the motorway operator Autostrade, for their roles in the deadly 2018 collapse of Genoa's Morandi Bridge. The disaster claimed the lives of 43 people when the structure gave way during torrential rain.

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Today we can say there are those guilty of the murder of our relatives.

Giovanni Castellucci, the former chief executive of Autostrade, received the harshest sentence of 12 years in prison. He was found guilty of vehicular homicide and negligence, with prosecutors arguing he postponed crucial maintenance work. Castellucci is already serving time for a separate 2013 accident where a bus fell from a viaduct, killing 40 people.

Relatives of the victims expressed a mix of grief and a demand for accountability. "Today we can say there are those guilty of the murder of our relatives," said Michele Matti Altadonna, whose brother died in the collapse. "We are here for our loved ones, in their memory." While some defendants, including Castellucci, intend to appeal, Altadonna vowed to continue seeking justice for his brother's children.

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We are here for our loved ones, in their memory.

The court's investigation highlighted a severe lack of maintenance, noting that "not even minimal maintenance work was carried out to reinforce the stays of pillar number nine" in the 51 years between the bridge's inauguration and its collapse. Prosecutors asserted that the disaster "could have been avoided."

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for the four children my brother left behind... we will not give up, we will not give up until the Supreme Court

Italy's deputy transport secretary, Edoardo Rixi, called the ruling an "important step on the path of truth and justice," stating that the collapse was not an act of fate but a consequence of "serious errors and omissions by those who had a duty to ensure safety."

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Between the inauguration in 1967 and the collapse, i.e. 51 years later, not even minimal maintenance work was carried out to reinforce the stays of pillar number nine.