22 killed as highway bridge collapses in Italy
Rome, Aug 14 : A section of a highway bridge collapsed in the Italian city of Genoa during heavy rain on Tuesday, plummeting vehicles up to 90 metres to the ground and killing at least 22 people, officials said.
The vice minister for infrastructure, Edoardo Rixi, said the death toll was expected to rise, while Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said it was likely to be "an immense tragedy", the BBC reported.
The 100-metre (328-feet), two-lane section of the Morandi bridge collapsed in the afternoon. Firefighting crews were searching alongside urban search and rescue teams for people trapped in their vehicles under the rubble.
The police linked the disaster to what they called "a violent cloudburst". According to reports, the collapsed section had mostly fallen on to rail tracks below. The bridge stands on the A10 toll motorway, which serves the Italian Riviera and southern coast of France.
It was built in the 1960s and the missing section was dozens of metres in length. It ran across the span of the Polcevera stream. Video footage appeared to show one of the towers holding up the suspension bridge collapsing in stormy weather.
"It was just after 11.30 when we saw lightning strike the bridge," eyewitness Pietro M all'Asa was quoted as saying by Italy's Ansa news agency. "And we saw the bridge going down."
Traffic was queuing on the bridge at the time, another eyewitness told Italian public television.
One image posted by the regional emergency services showed a truck perched at the end of the surviving bridge section immediately before the drop.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted a message of sympathy to the people of Italy and said he was ready to offer any necessary aid.
Local media estimated that around 10 vehicles could be trapped in the rubble.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
