Italy Jails Former Motorway Chief Over Genoa Bridge Disaster

An Italian court has sentenced former Autostrade per l'Italia (Aspi) chief executive Giovanni Castellucci to 12 years in prison over the 2018 collapse of Genoa's Morandi Bridge, one of the deadliest infrastructure disasters in modern Italian history.

The bridge collapsed during a heavy rainstorm on August 14, 2018, sending dozens of vehicles, including cars and trucks, crashing to the ground and killing 43 people.

After a lengthy trial involving 57 defendants, the court found several former motorway executives, engineers, and public officials guilty over failures related to the bridge's maintenance and safety oversight.

Prosecutors argued that repeated warnings about the ageing structure were ignored and that essential repairs were delayed, while defence lawyers maintained that the collapse resulted from flaws in the bridge's original design.

Castellucci, who had faced calls for a longer prison sentence, was among several officials convicted, with other senior executives also receiving lengthy jail terms. Relatives of the victims welcomed the verdict, saying it marked an important step toward accountability after years of seeking justice. The ruling has once again highlighted concerns over the maintenance of ageing infrastructure across Italy and reinforced demands for stricter safety standards and greater responsibility among those overseeing public transport networks.