In the case regarding the death of 43 people as a result of the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, one of Italy's biggest infrastructure disasters, 32 defendants, including the former highway operations manager, were sentenced to a total of 177 years in prison.

A part of the highway bridge, built in the 1960s, collapsed in stormy weather on August 14, 2018.

43 people lost their lives, including those in vehicles that fell from tens of meters high and those trapped under the bridge.

The decision was announced today in the case that has been going on for 4 years in Genoa.

The defendants, including former managers and technicians responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the bridge, were sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.

Giovanni Castellucci, former director of the state-run Autostrade per l'Italia (Aspi) company responsible for the construction and management of motorways, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Castellucci, who is currently serving a 6-year prison sentence for another traffic incident that occurred on a viaduct in the city of Avellino in 2013, did not attend the hearing in Genoa.

The Genoa prosecutor's office was demanding 18 years and 6 months in prison for Aspi's former CEO Castellucci.

Aspi and other managers and technicians from the maintenance company Spea were also tried in the case.

With the announced decision, Michele Donferri Mitelli, the manager responsible for maintenance activities, who is third in the management level at Aspi, was sentenced to 11 years.

The company's operations manager Paolo Berti and Spea's former CEO Antonino Galatà were sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison, and former Ministry of Transport Supervision Director Mauro Coletta was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

32 of the 57 defendants were sentenced to a total of 177 years in prison.

The defendants were being tried on charges such as causing multiple deaths, failing to fulfill their official duties, endangering transportation security, and forgery.

In addition to the relatives of those who lost their lives in the incident, Genoa Mayor Silvia Salis was also present at the decision hearing.

Speaking to the Italian press, a person who lost a relative said that he was satisfied with the decision and that it was confirmed that the deceased people were "killed".

Defense lawyers claimed that the collapse of the bridge was caused by a design flaw in a cable and that it could not be prevented by maintenance because the cable was covered with concrete.

The prosecutor's office argued that the defendants were aware of the signs of deterioration of the structure and therefore the possibility of its collapse, but they avoided maintenance costs in order to increase profits.

Aspi and Spea have paid approximately 30 million euros in compensation to date.

The Morandi Bridge disaster became a symbol of Italy's neglected infrastructure systems.

In 2020, the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge, designed by the famous Genoese architect Renzo Piano, was opened in 2024.

A monument was built under the new bridge for those who died on August 14, 2018.

In a statement he made after the disaster in 2018, Renzo Piano, the architect of the new bridge, said, "I do not believe in the fatalism that thinks that the anarchy of nature, the anarchy of lightning and rains cannot be controlled," regarding the claims that the bridge may have collapsed due to extreme weather events.

"Bridges do not collapse because of fate. No one should talk to us about fate," he said.