Abrar Hussain: Italian PM Giuseppe Conte has declared a 12-month state of emergency in the Liguria region after the motorway bridge collapse in Genoa which has taken the lives of 39 people.
Conte also said he would make an initial €5m ($5.7m) available from central funds to the north-western region after a request from the regional government following Tuesday’s disaster.
Giovanni Toti, governor of Liguria, had asked the government in Rome to declare a state of emergency in the region.Following a cabinet meeting held in the city of Genoa, Prime Minister Conte said, “We agreed to his request to declare a state of emergency in Ligura for 12 months due to the events of yesterday morning… and we decided to release €5m from the national emergency fund for immediate needs.”He announced a national day of mourning would take place, which the government wanted “to coincide with the funerals of the victims”.”These are unacceptable tragedies that should not happen in a modern society. This government will do everything to prevent such tragedies from happening again.There has reportedly been anger and disbelief in Italy that such a vital structure could have so easily collapsed..-Source: BBC