Italy bridge operator in spotlight as collapse death toll rises

GENOA, Italy - Rescuers hunted for survivors among huge chunks of debris on Wednesday after a bridge collapse that killed 39, as furious government ministers rounded on the viaduct's operator, saying it should pay fines and compensation and lose its concession.

Angelo Borrelli, the head of the civil protection department, announced the latest death toll at a news conference in Genoa on Wednesday.

Borrelli said some 1,000 rescuers have been working since after the collapse Tuesday to search for "any possible missing" persons.

He added that 15 people were injured when a 80-meter (260-foot) stretch of highway broke off, sending vehicles plunging from the bridge.

The 50-year-old bridge, part of a toll motorway linking the port city of Genoa with southern France, collapsed during torrential rain on Tuesday.

As cranes moved in to shift truck-sized chunks of broken concrete, hundreds of firefighters searched for survivors, while public shock and grief turned to anger over the state of the 1.2 km-long bridge, completed in 1967 and overhauled two years ago.

Italian Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, visiting the disaster scene, said bridge operator Autostrade would have to contribute to the cost of its reconstruction as well as pay heavy fines.

But Autostrade, a unit of Milan-listed Atlantia group, said it had done regular, sophisticated checks on the structure before the disaster, relying on "companies and institutions which are world leaders in testing and inspections"and that these had provided reassuring results.

"These outcomes have formed the basis for maintenance work approved by the Transport Ministry in accordance with the law and the terms of the concession agreement," it said.