Relatives of the 43 victims of the
August 14,2018 Genoa bridge disaster said they were astonished
that a former executive for highways company ASPI did not say
that he knew there was a risk the Morandi viaduct could collapse
eight years before it did.
"I wonder how one can keep quiet when one has information as
serious as this in one's hands and how certain people can sleep
soundly," said Egle Possetti, president of the Morandi Bridge
victims' remembrance committee, after former highways company
ASPI exec Gianni Mion, the former CEO of Benetton family holding
company Edizione and a former member of the boards of ASPI and
its ex-parent company Atlantia, said the issue was raised at a
meeting in 2010.
"If I had been in his place and had known the state of the
infrastructure I would not have kept quiet and I would have
played devil's advocate and I would also have made sure that the
problem emerged. Hopefully someone will pay."
Mion said former ASPI CEO Giovanni Castellucci, ex General
Manager Riccardo Mollo and the late Gilberto Benetton were among
the people who took part in the meeting, along with officials
from ASPI's maintenance arm SPEA.
"It emerged that the bridge had an original design defect and
that there was a collapse risk," Mion said.
"I asked if someone could certify its safety and Riccardo Mollo
replied 'there's the self-certification'.
"I didn't say anything and I worried about it.
"It was simple: either you closed it or an external (body)
certified it.
"I didn't do anything and it is my greatest regret".
In total, 59 people are on trial, including the former heads and
technical officials of ASPI and SPEA, former and current
transport ministry managers and other civil servants.
The charges range from culpable failure to comply with one's
duty for workplace safety to multiple culpable homicide.
ASPI and SPEA are no longer involved in the criminal trial after
a plea bargain to pay damages of around 30 million euros.
The remains of the Morandi bridge were demolished and another
viaduct designed by Genoese architect Renzo Piano opened in
August 2020 to take its place.
Mion added that he had had the feeling that no one controlled or
checked anything.
"A mistake was made by ASPIi when it bought SPEA, the company
should have been within ANAS or the ministry, it should have
remained public. The controller could not be the controlled
one", he said.
"After the interceptions and the collapse in the Bertè tunnel
(A26, 30 December 2019, ed.), he added, "I had the feeling that
no one controlled anything.
"My idea is that there was a collapse of the internal and
external control system, there was no trace of the ministry. My
opinion, reading what was emerging, was that no one was
controlling anything".
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