Genoa bridge collapse came after years of warnings

CNN  — 

First the disaster, now the polemic.

As hundreds of rescuers continued their search Wednesday for survivors of a bridge collapse in Italy that killed dozens of people the day before, questions were being asked about how such an accident could happen in a modern industrialized country, the eighth-biggest economy in the world.

Fingers are being pointed and there are calls for heads to roll. And, as can be expected in Italy, political infighting is reaching a fever pitch.

Built in the 1960s, the Morandi Bridge was a vital link of the A10 highway that connects northwest Italy to France, across the Polcevera river in central Genoa. It was one of the busiest bridges in the country, carrying freight and tourists to and from the port city.