Rescue workers combed through the rubble of Italy's Morandi Bridge collapse on Wednesday as the death toll climbed to 38 and the government blamed the bridge's private owner, demanding resignations and moving to strip its toll concession.
Genoa police said 20 people were injured in the collapse, adding the number of casualties was expected to rise.
The Morandi Bridge, named after the engineer who designed it, forms part of the A10 motorway run by Autostrade. The 55-kilometer (34-mile) stretch of the A10 accounts for around 1.7% of total network traffic for Italy's biggest toll road operator, according to one analyst's estimate.
The 50-year-old bridge linking the city of Genoa with southern France, collapsed during torrential rain on Tuesday, sending dozens of vehicles crashing onto a riverbed, a railway and two warehouses.
Autostrade said it had been carrying out maintenance work on the bridge.
"The work and state of the viaduct were under constant monitoring and supervision. The cause of the collapse will be thoroughly investigated as soon it safe to access the site," the company said in a statement.
Cranes were deployed on the site to shift truck-sized chunks of broken concrete as hundreds of firefighters searched for survivors, while public shock and grief turned to anger over the state of the bridge, completed in 1967 and overhauled two years ago.
The condition of the bridge and its ability to sustain large increases in both the intensity and weight of traffic over the years have been a focus of public debate since Tuesday's collapse, when an 80-meter (260-foot) span gave way at noon as cars packed with cars and trucks streamed across it.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called the incident an "immense tragedy."
He told RAI state television that "it is shocking to see the twisted metal and the bridge collapsed with victims who were extracted."
Conte praised the hundreds of rescue workers working at the site, saying, "They saved people who fell 45 meters [147 feet] and are now alive and in the hospital."
Italy's Transportation Minister Danilo Toninelli said Wednesday he had begun a process to fire Autostrade as the bridge's concession-holder, and demanded top Autostrade managers resign.
"Autostrade was unable to fulfill its obligations under the contract regulating the management of this infrastructure," Toninelli told local media, adding he also plans to impose heavy fines on the company.
"I have given my ministry the mandate to start all proceedings to apply the agreement, that is to revoke the [toll] concession from these companies and seek significant sanctions that can reach up to €150 million [$170 million] based on the terms of the contract."
Toninelli further said that the government would carry out nationwide structural inspections of aging bridges and tunnels across the country with a view to launching a programme of remedial works if required.
Within hours of the disaster, the anti-establishment government that took office in June said the collapse showed Italy needed to spend more on its dilapidated infrastructure, ignoring EU budget constraints if necessary.
"We should ask ourselves whether respecting these limits is more important than the safety of Italian citizens. Obviously, for me, it is not," said Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, head of the right-wing League, part of the ruling coalition.
