Couple killed after motorway bridge collapses in Italy

An Italian couple have been killed after a motorway bridge collapsed on top of their car, in Italy’s second such tragedy in just over four months.

The bridge collapsed on the A14 motorway near the city of Ancona, Italy, on Thursday evening, killing the couple and injuring two more.

Police said Antonella Viviani, 54, and her husband, 60-year-old Emidio Diomede, died at the scene.

The bridge was undergoing maintenance work.

A criminal investigation for manslaughter was opened and the infrastructure ministry announced its own inquiry and sent inspectors to the scene.

It follows a similar incident on 28 October last year when Claudio Bertini, 68, died when his car was crushed by a bridge collapse on the SS36 dual carriageway between Milan and Lecco.

That incident was blamed on bureaucratic bungling which led to a fatal delay in the bridge’s closure after it was reported to have significant cracks.

It fell under the weight of an articulated lorry that had special permission to carry an exceptionally heavy load but should have been diverted to a different road.