Italian bridge collapse: At least 39 killed when raised highway gives way in Genoa

Here are the latest updates: 

Update 8:40 a.m. EDT Aug. 15: Italian officials raised the death toll in Tuesday's Morandi Bridge collapse from 37 to 39 at a news conference Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

Angelo Borrelli, the head of the civil protection department,  said some 1,000 rescuers have been working since after the collapse Tuesday to search for “any possible missing” persons.

He added that 15 people were injured when a 80-meter (260-foot) stretch of highway broke off, sending vehicles plunging from the bridge.

Update 5:27 a.m. EDT Aug. 15: The death toll in Tuesday's bridge collapse in Genoa has climbed to 37, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Update 3:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 15: The death toll in Tuesday's bridge collapse in Genoa has climbed to 35, state media reported Wednesday.

Officials said three other people are still missing, and "about a dozen people" are still being treated at area hospitals, The Associated Press reported.

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Update 2:40 p.m. EDT Aug. 14: Italy's leader, Premier Giuseppe Conte, said Tuesday that 22 people have died and 16 others have been injured after a highway bridge collapsed in Genoa.

He warned that the final death toll is likely to rise as officials continue to comb the site of the “immense tragedy.” He told RAI state TV "it is shocking to see the twisted metal and the bridge collapsed with victims who were extracted."

Conte also praised the hundreds of rescue workers still at the site, saying "they saved people who fell 45 meters (nearly 150 feet) and are now alive and in the hospital."

Unidentified fire brigade sources had earlier told Italy's ANSA news agency that 35 people were killed in the incident.

Update 1:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 14: At least 35 people died as a result of the Morandi Bridge collapse, unidentified fire brigade sources told Italy's ANSA news agency. Five other people were listed in serious condition at a hospital, ANSA reported.

Rescuers told the news agency that four people have been pulled from the debris alive.

Hundreds of people continued to comb the scene Tuesday in search of victims.

Update 11:15 a.m. EDT Aug. 14: Italy's  Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told reporters Tuesday that at least 30 people were killed in Tuesday's highway bridge collapse in Genoa, up from the 20 reported dead earlier in the day, according to BBC News.

About 200 people were working to clear the debris and search for survivors after the Morandi Bridge collapsed Tuesday amid heavy rain and winds.

Update 10:05 a.m. EDT Aug. 14: Italian firefighters have released video footage of their efforts to rescue people trapped after a highway bridge collapsed Tuesday amid heavy winds in Genoa.

Angelo Borrelli, the head of Italian Civil Protection, said at a news conference Tuesday in Rome that about 30 vehicles "and a few heavy-duty trucks" were involved in Tuesday's incident, CNN reported. He said 20 people were killed in the collapse and 13 others wounded. Earlier, Italy's deputy transport minister Edoardo Rixi said the number of victims had risen to at least 22 dead and eight injured.

Borrelli said the victims appear to all have been in vehicles that plunged from the bridge. He added that while there are two warehouses below the collapse, it is believed they were closed for the summer holiday and that no one was inside.

Borrelli said that highway engineers were checking the safety of the bridge in other points, and that some areas were being evacuated as a precaution.

Update 9:35 a.m. EDT Aug. 14: "We suppose there are unfortunately a lot of dead," an ambulance official told Reuters as authorities continued working to clear the collapsed bridge Tuesday.

The head of the ambulance service Italian news agency Adnkronos that there were "dozens of dead" as a result of the collapse, according to Reuters.

Update 9:25 a.m. EDT Aug. 14: Italian officials have raised the death toll from Tuesday's highway bridge collapse from 11 to 22, according to The Associated Press.

Eight people were also injured, the AP reported.

Update 8:10 a.m. EDT Aug. 14: At least 11 people are dead and 20 vehicles were affected when part of a highway bridge collapsed in Genoa, according to The Associated Press.

At least two survivors were rescued from the rubble and flown to a nearby hospital, a firefighter told Italy’s RAI state TV.

Original report: Emergency crews were searching for victims Tuesday after part of a highway bridge collapsed in northwestern Italy.

According to The Associated Press, about 10 vehicles were affected when a 650-foot portion of the Morandi Bridge gave way. At least one survivor has been rescued from the rubble, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.

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Although local news outlets reported that people had died in the collapse, authorities had not confirmed that information, the AP reported.

The collapse came as a "sudden and violent storm" hit the area, according to the AP.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.