Reuters Insider - Italy bridge operator in spotlight as collapse death toll rises
15/08/2018 17:14
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.insider.thomsonreuters.com/link?entryId=0_vl90lvyi&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2018:newsml_OV8TAS70R_930&pageId=ReutersNews Source: Reuters Insider Description: Rescuers hunted for survivors among towering slabs of wreckage 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. As Francis Maguire reports, shares in Atlantia, which owns Autostrade per I'Italia, have fallen more than 5 percent. Short Link: https://reut.rs/2BpfQ3p Video Transcript: Italian government ministers have criticized the operator of a bridge that collapsed in Genoa on Tuesday. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said Autostrada, a unit of Milan-listed Atlantia Group, should pay fines and compensation. He said he will penalize anyone who didn't fulfill their contractual obligations regarding maintenance, and called on Autostrada's management to resign. br/ br/ The first thing we'll do is go and check the stipulated convention with Autostrada and revoke this concession. We will heavily penalize those who have not fulfilled clear contractual obligations regarding maintenance. br/ br/ At least 39 people died when the toll bridge collapsed during torrential rain. Autostrada, whose parent firm Atlantia, also runs toll road concessions in Brazil, Chile, India, and Poland, said it had done regular sophisticated checks of the structure, adding these tests gave reassuring results. But the bridge's condition and its ability to cope with the weight of higher levels of traffic have been the focus of public debate since the collapse, as has public spending. Within hours of the disaster, the antiestablishment government that took office in June said the collapse showed Italy needed to spend more on its dilapidated infrastructure, ignoring EU budget constraints if necessary