Gianni Mion said issue with Morandi Bridge was raised in 2010, eight years before tragedy in which 43 died

Relatives of the 43 people killed in Genoa’s Morandi Bridge disaster expressed their dismay after a former executive at the motorways company responsible for the viaduct admitted to knowing it was at risk of collapse years before the incident and did nothing about it.

Gianni Mion made the confession while being questioned as a witness in the trial of 59 people over the 2018 tragedy at the court of Genoa. He told the court he had been aware of the danger associated with the bridge since 2010, when the issue was discussed during a meeting of officials at Autostrade per l’Italia (ASPI), the company that manages Italy’s toll motorways, and SPEA, its maintenance unit.

New bridge, named Genoa San Giorgio, replaces Morandi bridge that collapsed in 2018

A band played Italy’s national anthem before the names of the 43 people killed in the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa in 2018 were read aloud as the replacement bridge was inaugurated on Monday evening.

The reading was followed by a minute of silence during a ceremony attended by president Sergio Mattarella, prime minister Giuseppe Conte, and Renzo Piano, the Genoa-born architect who donated his design for the new bridge, named Genoa San Giorgio.

Opening hailed but offers little comfort to families of Morandi bridge collapse victims

On the 14th day of each month, the relatives of some of those who died in the collapse of Genoa’s Morandi bridge tie flowers to railings close to the site of the disaster.

“We live in different places and so haven’t always managed to get there every month,” said Egle Possetti, whose sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew were among the 43 killed on 14 August 2018. “But there’s a woman in Genoa who brings flowers on behalf of all of us.”