The bridge, more than 45 meters high, collapsed on the railway tracks under it. Under the rubble, rescuers discovered at least about 10 cars.
"The size of this disaster is epochal, there are dozens of deaths, including people who fell from the bridge..." the Italian agency Adnkronos reported with reference to the representative of the ambulance.
The structure was erected in the 1960s and named after the engineer Riccardo Morandi. The second unofficial name was the Brooklyn Bridge because the structure vaguely resembled the famous American bridge.
The length of the collapsed site is about 200 meters, the police say.
A weakening of load-bearing structures, a defect, is called as possible causes of collapse, which happened during a thunderstorm and a strong wind. Some of the eyewitnesses say that lightning struck the bridge.
The bridge was last renovated in 2016.
By 14:56 Moscow time rescuers managed to pull one of the victims out from under the rubble. He was taken to the hospital by helicopter.
Because of the incident, the traffic is blocked on the section of the road. Firefighters, doctors and law enforcement officers work on the spot.
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