One of the biggest trials in Italy opened this Thursday morning in Genoa, Liguria. Justice must establish responsibilities in the disaster of August 14, 2018, the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa.
With our correspondent in Italy, Anne the Nir
The figures are clearly those of a maxi-trial which could last more than two years. Fifty-nine defendants at the bar are accused of “manslaughter”, “undermining transport security”, or “voluntary removal of security devices”. They are mainly executives and technicians from the companies that operated the Morandi Bridge, owned at the time by the Atlanta group of the Benetton family. Three hundred and fifty civil parties will be present.
On the day of the tragedy, two spans of the Morandi bridge which overlooked the port city collapsed on themselves, carrying away, under a torrential rain, the cars which circulated there. Forty-three people lost their lives and sixteen others survived their injuries. An accident which also highlighted the state of disrepair of several infrastructures in Italy.
A trial ” long and complex »
On the logistics side, a tent, divided into three air-conditioned rooms and connected to the courtroom of the Tribunal, will welcome the public, the media – furious at having limited access to the Tribunal -, consultants and representatives of political parties. This first hearing will be technical. It will be used to ensure the proper conduct of the trial. “ The trial should be long and complex said Egle Possetti, spokesperson for the victims’ families committee who lost his sister, brother-in-law and two nephews in the bridge collapse.
Since summer 2020, a new bridge, designed by the famous architect Renzo Piano, has replaced the Morandi viaduct. The families of the victims had refused to go to the inauguration. For them, what matters it’s not the ceremonies but the judicial truth.
► To read also: Pont Morandi, a scandal of appalling magnitude