Rare: Truck driver narrowly escapes death when highway bridge collapses in Italy
The driver managed to brake, stop the car a few meters away from the collapsed bridge, and then ran away in panic, as dozens of cars in front of him fell down.
| Truck driver narrowly escapes death in Italy highway bridge collapse |
"I saw the road collapse below and the cars in front of me at that time," the 37-year-old man, identified only by his initials FL, told rescue workers after the horrific highway bridge collapse that took place on the morning of August 14, claiming the lives of at least 39 people, including three members of the same family.
After making a delivery, FL was crossing the Ponte Morandi highway bridge in the port city of Genoa when he witnessed the 200-meter-long bridge collapse. His blue truck was stopped just meters away from the collapsed bridge, according toMirror.
Until yesterday, a day after the tragedy, his truck was still in the same place where he had slammed on the brakes and run away in panic to escape.
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The FL truck was just a few meters from the edge of the collapsed bridge. Photo:Rex. |
Giovanni D'Alessandro, director of the Basko supermarket where the driver was delivering goods before the bridge collapsed, said that although the driver was in shock, he was not injured. FL did not respond to an interview request, but he told the boss of Damonte Transport Company, where he works, about his experience.
The truck driver's narrow escape story was revealed after images from the scene showed rescue workers swinging to pull survivors to safety.
One of the survivors of the bridge collapse was Davide Capello, a 33-year-old goalkeeper for the Legino football team. When his car fell from the bridge, Capello thought he would not survive.
"I thought that was it. But thank God, I'm still alive to tell the whole story," he said.
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Many police cars and ambulances were mobilized to the scene of the bridge collapse on August 14 in the port city of Genoa, Italy. Photo:Rex. |
The Ponte Morandi bridge on the A10 highway in the port city of Genoa, northern Italy, collapsed at around 11:30 a.m. (4:30 p.m. Hanoi time) on August 14. The collapsed section was about 200 meters long on the 1-km-long bridge, falling into the river, railway tracks and buildings below. The incident occurred during a rainstorm.
Danilo Toninelli, Italy's transport minister, said "lack of maintenance" was to blame for the crash. He added that "those responsible will pay the price".
The city of Genoa announced that it will dedicate August 15-16 to remember the victims who died in the bridge collapse.
