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ROME — A highway bridge collapsed during a violent storm in Italy’s northern city of Genoa on Tuesday.
Authorities said part of the Morandi Bridge fell during torrential rainfall around 11:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET). Around 200 firefighters were sent to the scene.
Italian news agency Adnkronos quoted the head of the local ambulance service as saying “dozens” of people had been killed. The death toll could not immediately be confirmed by NBC News.
The section of the A10 toll highway that collapsed was elevated over a river and a portion of the city.
Genoa resident Davide di Giorgio was shooting a video of the stormy weather and captured the moment when the bridge collapsed.
“I was actually filming the rain so that I could send the video to my parents,” di Giorgio told NBC News. “Suddenly the bridge collapsed in front of me, I couldn’t believe it.”
He added: “That’s one of the most important bridges in the city. Genoa is now cut in half.”
Another witness told Sky Italia television he saw “eight or nine” vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed in what he described as an “apocalyptic scene.”
Emergency official Amalia Tedeschi told RAI TV that sniffer dogs were working in the rubble. In addition, heavy equipment was being moved in so they could lift pieces of the bridge.
Tedeschi said the part of the bridge that collapsed was about 80 yards long.
Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said in a tweet that he was “following with great apprehension what seems like an immense tragedy.”
The bridge was built in the 1960s.
The highway operator said work to shore up the foundation of the bridge was being carried out at the time of the collapse, adding that the bridge was constantly monitored.
The highway is a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France’s southern coast.
Claudio Lavanga reported from Rome, and Yuliya Talmazan from London.