'Dazed and confused' Genoans reel from bridge collapse tragedy
Port workers tell Sky they are heartbroken over the death of one of their colleagues but want politicians to stop the blame game.
Thursday 16 August 2018 22:06, UK
If the bridge was a symbol of this city, the port is its heart.
The dockers and truckers around the port used the Morandi Bridge every day.
They crossed the bridge to get to work, to get between the different port zones, and to get home again.
And so the moment they heard it had collapsed they knew they'd be grieving.
Overlooking the dockside I meet Antonio Benvenuti.
"We are a family of 1,100 workers - we are dazed and confused; depressed." he tells me. "It's not a worker who died but a brother and a friend who lost his life."
His friend was Andrea Cerulli, 47, a son of the city, a port worker, a husband, and father of a 10-year-old boy.
Antonio shows me pictures of him as we chat. He's angry and fed up with the politicians blaming each other.
His first concern though is how he and his fellow workers can support Andrea's wife and son. They'll set up a fund, he says.
Andrea will be remembered in a state funeral for all the victims on Saturday.
A couple of miles away, under what's left of the bridge, the rescue and recovery hasn't stopped.
It's day three of searching and the team's determination is still there. I think the stories of survival must help to keep them going.
:: Up to 20 people could be missing after bridge collapse
Yesterday, we watched one of the mangled vehicles being being moved from the rubble to a nearby car park.
It seemed, we thought at the time, impossible that the driver could have survived the wreck we were looking at. And if he had, surely he would be terribly injured.
But today, one of the many miracles in this otherwise awful story walked back to his truck to collect his belongings.
Luciano Goccia explained that he was diving under the bridge when he heard a huge roar. He managed to get out of his cab just before half of it was completely flattened.
From the balconies of the apartments which sit in the shadow of the remaining part of the bridge, you can see the repair work which had been done.
Cables clad the original supports, topped with massive new brackets.
:: Father-to-be clung for hours on side of Genoa bridge
But further along, the next vast concrete support has rusty iron brackets at the top. And the next one to that is now rubble.
For residents like Fabio Presti, it has helped create the perception, which dates back years, that the bridge simply wasn't safe.
"When I passed the bridge, at all times, I had fear." Fabio tells me. "Because it's obsolete, it is not safe."
The work they used to do on the bridge most nights - drilling and digging - hardly filled him with confidence, he said.
They still think up to 30 people may be buried, presumed dead, under the rubble.
The helicopters are still shuttling back and forth to the city's hospital where the identification of those who died must take place. It is also where most of the injured are being treated.
They had a visitor today: Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
He is one powerful half of the 'populist' coalition that now runs this country. He was there to speak to them away from the cameras.
And then he stepped out to address the media. With the Trump-like directness which thrust him to power, he blamed the European Union and he blamed the Autostrade, who operate the bridge.
"If I was a manager of Autostrade, I would have been here for two days and I would have opened my wallet and given my millions of euros profit to the people damaged by this tragedy," he said.
"The more I think about the deaths of Genoa, the more I get angry.
"Those responsible for this disaster, with names and surnames, will have to pay, pay everything, pay dearly," he'd said yesterday and repeated today.
It was inevitable that this would quickly become unpleasantly political.
Mr Salvini, who loathes the EU, says Brussels demands for Italy to pay off its debts means there is no money for infrastructure.
"Spending that saves lives, jobs and the right to health must not be part of rigid calculations and of rules imposed by Europe," Mr Salvini said.
The EU says he is plain wrong.
EU budget commissioner Gunther Oettinger tweeted: "It is very human to look for somebody to blame, when [a] terrible accident happens.
"Still, good to look at facts. In past 7 years, @EU_Regional paid €2.5 billion for roads & trains in Italy + €12 billion from #EUinvest + EU gave green light to national funding for €8.5bn."
A commission spokesperson added: "We think the time has come to make a few things clear. Member states are free to set specific policy priorities, for instance the development and maintenance of infrastructure. In fact, the EU has encouraged investment in infrastructure in Italy."
As the sun set in Genoa, at a city chapel the preparations are being made for many funerals. Coffins are lined up; relatives embrace. For now, for the families, this is the focus.