Eyewitness: 'People ran terrified over the bridge'

genoa - A 30-year-old Italian motorist just wanted to drive over the bridge when the disaster occurred. She saw that something was wrong, but she thought about an accident. 'Then I suddenly saw dozens of people running my way. They shouted, 'The bridge collapses, flees!'

That tells the net of the frightened Silvia Rivetti from Genova to Adnkronos. She says it rained hard when the bridge collapsed. Other eyewitnesses say that lightning struck.

The bridge collapsed in two parts according to eyewitnesses. After the crash of part of the road, one large pillar fell over. 'I think the road was hit by lightning,' motorist David Ricci tells Italian newspaper La Stampa. He was lucky: 'The debris ended up just 20 meters from my car. '

Alberto Lercari, an Italian driver, saw people in panic running down the bridge like Rivetti did. 'It was awful. I saw people running towards me, barefoot and terrified, 'he says to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.