- Demolition experts have blown up the remains of the giant Morandi bridge in the Italian city of Genoa, nearly a year after the structure collapsed.
Demolition experts have blown up the remains of the giant Morandi bridge in the Italian city of Genoa, nearly a year after the structure collapsed.
Thousands of people were evacuated ahead of explosions which brought down two large towers consisting of about 4,500 tonnes of concrete and steel.
Water tanks were placed around the towers to prevent the spread of dust.
Forty-three people were killed when part of the bridge, and cars travelling along it, fell 45m (148ft) last August.
It prompted a fierce debate about the safety of Italy’s infrastructure.
The Morandi bridge was a critical structure in Genoa, serving the busy A10 motorway network that serves the Italian Riviera and links northern Italy to France.
How did it happen?
Hundreds of residents, including pregnant women and the elderly, were told to leave on Thursday ahead of the demolition.
More than 3,400 others were being evacuated on Friday morning from the areas surrounding the two towers in preparation for the operation.
Roads within a 300m (984ft) radius of the demolition site were set to close.
Explosives were attached to the legs of the towers and the parts of the bridge still standing.
Minutes before the explosions, sirens rang out and water began to spray the structure from tanks all around the base.
Then within eight seconds the towers were gone.
Dozens of water tanks and sacks were placed alongside and beneath the structure, with the aim of preventing the spread of fine dust by creating a wall of water some 50m high when the explosives are detonated.
The demolition team said it would take just six seconds for the concrete and steel towers to be razed to the ground.
Italy’s deputy prime ministers Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio joined onlookers in Genoa for the demolition, broadcast live on Italian TV.
Locals will be permitted to return later on Friday if the area is considered safe.
Parts of the structure that passed over residential homes and business, roads and railway lines were dismantled earlier this year.
What happened to the bridge?
During heavy rainfall on 14 August 2018, a 200m (656ft) section of the Morandi bridge collapsed along with one of its three main supporting towers, crushing dozens of vehicles in busy traffic.
