Blaze damages historic bridge spanning Tiber River in Rome

ROME — A blaze, perchance sparked by a state canister explosion, destroyed portion of an historical span spanning the Tiber River successful Rome earlier firefighters extinguished the flames aboriginal Sunday.

Firefighters said the occurrence erupted earlier midnight Saturday adjacent the Ostiense vicinity and by 4 a.m. Sunday they had completed their work.

No 1 was injured successful the occurrence that progressive the Industry Bridge, but 3 nightclubs adjacent the riverside vicinity fashionable with young radical were evacuated arsenic a precaution, Italian authorities TV said.

The blaze appeared to person started successful an country of shacks occupied by stateless radical connected the stream banks adjacent Industry Bridge earlier spreading to the span itself. State vigor said authorities judge the occurrence mightiness person been started by an detonation of a cooking state canister by 1 of the stateless people.

A conception of the bridge’s outer pedestrian walkway and agelong nether the roadbed carrying inferior lines broke disconnected and fell into the Tiber. State vigor noted that different occurrence respective years agone had besides progressive the shacks.

Firefighters said successful a tweet that the span is presently excessively unsafe to beryllium used. They besides banned immoderate navigation nether it until the span tin beryllium repaired.

Pope Pius IX attended the 1863 inauguration of the bridge, 1 of the past large operation works successful Rome successful the waning years of the papal authorities controlling the city, which would soon go the superior of unified Italy.

Dubbed by Romans the “Iron Bridge,” the span primitively served arsenic a railway bridge. Later it was outfitted to alternatively service cars and ft traffic.

A plaque adjacent 1 of the span’s ends pays tribute to 10 women who were executed connected it successful 1944 by German SS troops occupying Rome during the second years of World War II. The women were punished for having occupied a bakery to provender their families successful the metropolis wherever warfare made nutrient scarce.