Reports 30 dead, 8 injured in the Genoa highway bridge collapse.

An apocalyptic scene'this morning in Italy! A highway bridge in the port city of Genoa, which was undergoing structural repairs - collapsed this Tuesday, after being struck by a bolt of lightning. It was 11.30am. Within two hours of the collapse there were at least 30 confirmed deaths and more seriously injured. The governor of the local region Giovanni Toti this afternoon that said he expected the death toll to "grow significantly.' Rescue crews are working to free survivors trapped in the rubble below. About 20 vehicles, including cars and trucks, are involved in the collapse. Two people have been extracted alive from vehicles, with injuries. Sniffer dogs are at work in the rubble looking for more injured and victims. In addition, heavy equipment was being moved in so they can lift pieces of the bridge. The part of the bridge that collapsed was about100 meters (yards) in length. The authorities suspected that a structural weakness caused the collapse. French news agency AFP said it was a portion of the four-decade old Morandi highway bridge that had collapsed. A fire service spokesperson told AFP the bridge collapsed primarily onto rail tracks about 100 yards below and that "cars and trucks" had fallen with the rubble. Witnesses told that they believed at least 10 vehicles were trapped under the rubble. Italy's government Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said the collapse appeared to be "an immense tragedy". The collapsed bridge in Genoa, which was built in the 1960s, is known as the "Morandi Bridge". Major restructuring work on the bridge was also carried out in 2016. The collapsed part is about a kilometer long and rises above a part of the Polcevera river bed.