The engineer who helped build the bridge that collapsed in Genoa, killing at least 30 people, claims the collapse was caused by a major flaw in the supporting piles, meaning the structure could not support the weight of heavy traffic.
According to The Daily Express engineer Saverio Ferrari blamed the Genoa bridge collapse on the decision of the original building team not to build the supporting piles with anti-seismic materials.
Mr Ferrari worked as an engineer for the company that built the bridge, and argued the flaw in the structure and the failure of authorities to redirect heavy traffic to alternative routes were the main reasons behind the deadly collapse.
He claimed civil engineer Riccardo Morandi, who designed the bridge, had been aware of the decision and had complained to the building team.
The Morandi bridge already showcased major issues less than two years after it was built.
Mr Ferrari said, "Mr Morandi got mad at the engineer in charge, he said ‘it needs to have a specific weight base to hold up.’ The piles were not anti-seismic.
The 50-year-old Morandi Bridge in Genoa is a major route to neighbouring France.
"When the carrying capacity is not calculated you need to test the foundations. The test was done over five days. The chemical reaction of concrete cannot be completed within five days yet they kept on building.
"In 1969 I stopped near the centre of the central span of the bridge and the oscillation of the structure from right to left was off by seven or eight centesimal.
“They did not learn how to redirect the heavier traffic from the 1980s onwards. That’s why the bridge gave out."
Witnesses to the tragedy say the bridge collapsed during heavy rain “like flour” on to the railway lines and buildings below.
Rescue workers have confirmed that 39 people have died and 15 are injured, with numbers expected to rise.
A baby is reported to have died as well as two people who were in their homes after the enormous bridge collapsed.
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