Genoa Bridge Collapse Death Toll Rises As Outrage Mounts And State Funerals Begin

Four more victims found, media reports.
Relatives mourn near the coffins of some of the victims of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge on Saturday.
Relatives mourn near the coffins of some of the victims of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge on Saturday.
PIERO CRUCIATTI via Getty Images

A further four victims of the Genoa bridge collapse have been found, Italian media reports said, bringing the death toll to 42.

Italian state radio said the body of a 30-year-old man was found in rubble near the site, as three more bodies were found in a car overnight.

The report also said rescuers believe all those previously thought missing might now have been accounted for, after an elderly man called local authorities to say he was OK and not involved in Tuesday’s tragedy.

Public outrage over the tragedy was mounting as Italian politicians spoke of repercussions for the private companies involved in maintaining the country’s creaking infrastructure.

The Morandi Bridge still partially stands after a large section of it collapsed earlier this week.
The Morandi Bridge still partially stands after a large section of it collapsed earlier this week.
Jack Taylor via Getty Images

It comes as a state funeral for many of the victims was held on Saturday at Genoa’s convention centre, led by the city’s archbishop, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, and attended by President Sergio Mattarella and Conte.

Twelve coffins were already placed in a large hall, and family members visited them on Friday, sometimes kissing the caskets. One white coffin held the body of seven-year-old Samuele Robbiano, who died alongside his parents.

“It is something that has touched everyone because we all used the bridge and it could have happened to anyone,” Bishop Nicolo Anselmi said after blessing the coffins.

Some families planned to boycott the event and hold their own private services, as a sign of protest against what they said was negligence that caused the bridge to collapse.

A relative touches the coffin during the state funeral of victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.
A relative touches the coffin during the state funeral of victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.
Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Archbishop of Genoa, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, are seen at the end of the state funeral of the victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Archbishop of Genoa, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, are seen at the end of the state funeral of the victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.
Stefano Rellandini / Reuters

Before the state funeral ceremony began in a pavilion on Genoa’s fairgrounds, President Sergio Mattarella offered quiet words of comfort to families of the victims.

He then took his place with other Italian leaders, including Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and the transportation and infrastructure minister, in the cavernous hall.

Families of 19 of the dead had their loved ones’ coffins taken to the hall for the funeral mass led by Genoa’s archbishop, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco.

Among the coffins were those of two young Albanian Muslim men who lived and worked in Italy.

Their remains were blessed at the end of the Catholic service by a Genoa imam, who drew applause when he prayed for God to “protect Italy and all Italians”.

The state funeral of the victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.
The state funeral of the victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.
Massimo Pinca / Reuters

At other funerals elsewhere in Italy on Friday, angry mourners accused authorities of negligence and incompetence for failing to keep the bridge safe.

During the state funeral, applause rang out and many fought back tears as a prelate read out the first names of some 30 victims who have so far been identified.

The mourners also applauded Italian firefighters, police and volunteers for the civil protection department as they arrived for the funeral.

The funeral of four young men who were en route to a holiday together in France and Spain when the disaster struck was being held in Torre del Greco, near Naples, on Friday.

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