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Pictures emerge of 'crumbling' Ponte Morandi bridge before it collapsed killing 39 people

Pictures have emerged of the 'crumbling' bridge before the collapse: EPA
Pictures have emerged of the 'crumbling' bridge before the collapse: EPA

Images have emerged of the "crumbling" Ponte Morandi bridge in Genoa, a year before it collapsed killing 39 people.

Locals have posted images of the bridge following the disastrous collapse on Twitter and said that they had warned local authorities about the state of the landmark.

It comes as Italy's deputy premier Luigi Di Maio blamed the collapse on a lack of maintenance by the private company that operates many of the nation's toll highways.

What caused a 260 foot long stretch of highway to break off from the 150 foot high bridge is currently under investigation.

A woman, know as Elisabetta on Twitter, shared an image of the bridge that she claimed had been taken in February 2017.

She said yesterday: "We were afraid it would collapse. It happened today."

While Tiziana Fait shared a picture, allegedly taken recently, showing the bridge from underneath.

In December 2012, Genoa's city council discussed the bridge at a public hearing. According to the BBC, a local industry confederation official said the Morandi Bridge could collapse "in 10 years."

Genoa prosecutor Francesco Cozzi says that the investigation into the bridge collapse is focusing on maintenance and the design of the 51-year-old structure.

Mr Cozzi told reporters on Wednesday that he didn't know if anyone bore legal responsibility for the collapse that killed at least 39 people but he said "for sure it was not an accident."

Morandi Bridge collapse: The structure came crashing down on Tuesday morning (REUTERS)
Morandi Bridge collapse: The structure came crashing down on Tuesday morning (REUTERS)

He said there were no pending complaints involving the bridge in recent years, and that they were also checking archives.

But he noted if there had been serious concerns about the safety of the bridge in the prosecutor's office "none of us would have driven over that highway 20 times a month as we do."

Still, the head of Italy's transport department has said that a $22.7 million (£17.3 million) safety upgrade for the bridge had been planned.

Dozens of vehicles were sent tumbling into a heap of concrete and twisted steel as the bridge collapsed in heavy rain at around 11.30am local time.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte called it "an immense tragedy...inconceivable in a modern system like ours, a modern tragedy."

A view of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa (AP)
A view of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa (AP)

Civil protection authorities confirmed 39 people died and 15 were injured. Interior minister Matteo Salvini said three children were among the dead.

Rescuers and sniffer dogs are continuing to search through tonnes of concrete slabs and steel for survivors or bodies.