Genoa bridge: Towers demolished after residents are evacuated (photos)

Thousands of people were evacuated ahead of explosions which brought down two large towers consisting of about 4,500 tonnes of concrete and steel.

Water tanks were placed around the towers to prevent the spread of dust.

Forty-three people were killed when part of the bridge, and cars travelling along it, fell 45m (148ft) last August.

It prompted a fierce debate about the safety of Italy's infrastructure.


The Morandi bridge was a critical structure in Genoa, serving the busy A10 motorway network that serves the Italian Riviera and links northern Italy to France.

Hundreds of residents, including pregnant women and the elderly, were told to leave on Thursday ahead of the demolition.

More than 3,400 others were being evacuated on Friday morning from the areas surrounding the two towers in preparation for the operation.

Roads within a 300m (984ft) radius of the demolition site were set to close.

Explosives were attached to the legs of the towers and the parts of the bridge still standing.

Minutes before the explosions, sirens rang out and water began to spray the structure from tanks all around the base.

Then within eight seconds the towers were gone.