Witnesses in Genoa: Lightning struck the beam and everything collapsed

"The lightning struck the bottom of the pillar. Immediately afterwards, the concrete began to crumble and then everything collapsed, and it was the end of the world," quoted La Repubblica a member of a four-person family that witnessed the tragedy. Another witness told the ANSA agency: "It was shortly after half past eleven when we saw the lightning hit the bridge, and then we saw the bridge going down." The mentioned family is recovering from the shock with the help of psychologists. "We saw the structure give way and then the first truck fell down," witnesses described.

Another onlooker was also disturbed: "I still have that scene in front of my eyes. People falling as the bridge collapsed. Trucks, cars." Before the section of the viaduct fell, the woman was making her way down the street beneath it. "I was ten meters from the bridge when it crumbled, as if it were made of flour. (...) It was a miracle, but I feel sorry for those poor people because that bridge had problems," said a resident of Genoa about one of the city’s most significant traffic arteries.

"The view is truly apocalyptic, as if a bomb had fallen," described a reporter from La Repubblica at the disaster site, where it was heavily raining at that moment. He also mentioned hearing about a girl who was passing under the viaduct and suffered serious injuries, but according to him, her life is not in danger. "The situation is really dramatic. I'm here at the site, but I think that the rest of the city will be completely blocked," said Matteo Pucciarelli.

News websites are also spreading videos and photographs of a truck that stopped just a few meters from the breaking point. Corrado Cusano was also lucky, as he reportedly passed over the critical section of the bridge ten or twenty seconds before its collapse. "I turned around and saw the bridge falling," he said in a broadcast on Rai television. He confirmed that there were a lot of vehicles behind him, "because we were stuck in a traffic jam".

Almost miraculously, there was also the case of Davide Capello, who was driving over the Morandi Bridge at the moment of the fall. "I saw the road disappear in front of me and I was left petrified and powerless in my car, which was flying down," reported the 36-year-old firefighter. However, his car did not hit the ground hard, and Davide managed to get out of it by himself. "My colleagues say it was a miracle," added Capello.

Similarly, the truck driver reported by the Corriere Della Sera website escaped. "He described to us that he heard a huge crash and then was thrown from the truck that fell. He only managed to save himself with an injured hip and shoulder," reported the Italian newspaper's journalist.