A view of the Morandi highway bridge that collapsed in Genoa, northern Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. A large section of the bridge collapsed over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova during a sudden and violent storm, leaving vehicles crushed in rubble below. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
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ROME (AP) - The Latest developments following the deadly collapse of a highway bridge in Italy (all times local):
12:40 p.m.
Pope Francis has led prayers for the victims of the Genoa highway bridge collapse.
Francis also noted the shock of Genoa's population in remarks Wednesday to faithful in St. Peter's Square.
Authorities said at least 39 were killed in the bridge's collapse on Tuesday in the northwestern Italian port city.
Francis said: "I am especially thinking of all those tried by the tragedy in Genoa yesterday, which caused victims and a sense of loss in the population."
He expressed his "spiritual closeness" to the victims, the injured and their families and the hundreds of people who were forced to flee homes in the area.
He then led thousands of people in the square in a special prayer for the victims and their loved ones.
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12:30 p.m.
Italian authorities have raised the number of confirmed deaths to 39 in the Genoa highway bridge collapse.
Angelo Borrelli, the head of the civil protection department, announced the latest death toll at a news conference in Genoa on Wednesday.
Borrelli 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.
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12:15 p.m.
Albanian authorities say that two Albanian men were killed in the collapse of the highway bridge in Genoa.
The Albanian Embassy in Rome identified the victims as two young Albanian men named Marjus Djerri and Edi Bokrina on its Facebook page Wednesday, expressing condolences and offering assistance to their families.
Hundreds of thousands of Albanians have moved to Italy seeking better lives following the collapse of the communist regime in the tiny western Balkan country.
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10:45 a.m.
Italian authorities have raised the death toll in the Genoa highway bridge collapse to at least 37.
The Italian city's prefect office announced the updated figure on Wednesday even as rescuers searched through tons of slabs of broken roadbed, smashed concrete chunks and twisted steel for any more survivors.
At least two people were missing.
The Morandi Bridge collapsed without warning Tuesday, sending dozens of vehicles plunging as much as 50 meters (180 feet) below. Sixteen people were injured. State radio said among them was a woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a fire sparked by debris falling into her home and a Czech truck driver who suffered a chest injury.
Many in the city had said the 1967 bridge needed shoring up.
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9 a.m.
Rescue and recovery efforts continued through the night into the morning in Italy following the collapse of a highway bridge in Genoa, while authorities raised the death toll to 35 with three missing.
Rescuers searched through tons of concrete slabs and steel for survivors or bodies from the collapse a day earlier on the eve of Wednesday's summer Ferragosto holiday.
State radio Wednesday quoted the prefect's office confirming a death toll of 35 and denying some news reports that put it at 38.
About a dozen people remained hospitalized in serious condition.
What caused an 80-meter (260-foot) long stretch of highway to break off from the 45-meter (150 foot) high Morandi Bridge in the northwestern port city is under investigation. There had been proposals to upgrade the 1967 bridge.
Rescue teams search for survivors among the rubble of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 90 meters (nearly 300 feet) into a heap of rubble below. (Flavio Lo Scalzo/ANSA via AP)
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In this frame taken from a video released by the Italian firefighters, rescue teams work among the rubble of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 90 meters (nearly 300 feet) into a heap of rubble below. (Vigili Del Fuoco via AP)
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In this photo released by the Italian firefighters, rescue teams work among the rubble of the collapsed Morando highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 90 meters (nearly 300 feet) into a heap of rubble below. (Vigili Del Fuoco via AP)
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Rescuers recover an injured person after the Morandi highway bridge collapsed in Genoa, northern Italy, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. A large section of the bridge collapsed over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova during a sudden and violent storm, leaving vehicles crushed in rubble below. (Luca Zennaro/ANSA via AP)
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EDS NOTE, GRAPHIC CONTENT -- Firefighters recover from a car the body of a victim of the Morandi highway bridge collapse, in Genoa, northern Italy, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. A large section of the bridge collapsed over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova during a sudden and violent storm, leaving vehicles crushed in rubble below. (Luca Zennaro/ANSA via AP)
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Firefighters load an injured person on a helicopter after the Morandi highway bridge collapsed in Genoa, northern Italy, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. The highway bridge collapsed during a violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 45 meters (nearly 150 feet) into a heap of rubble. Authorities said at least 20 people were killed, although some people were found alive in the debris. (Luca Zennaro/ANSA via AP)
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In this frame taken from a video released by the Italian firefighters, rescue teams work among the rubble of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 90 meters (nearly 300 feet) into a heap of rubble below. (Vigili Del Fuoco via AP)
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A view of the Morandi highway bridge that collapsed in Genoa, northern Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. A large section of the bridge collapsed over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova during a sudden and violent storm, leaving vehicles crushed in rubble below. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
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Pope Francis blesses the crowd during the Angelus noon prayer he recited from the window of his studio overlooking St.Pter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. The pontiff said his thoughts are with the families of the victims, the wounded and the displaced following deadly bridge collapse in Italy. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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General view of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 90 meters (nearly 300 feet) into a heap of rubble below. (Luca Zennaro/ANSA via AP)
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Pope Francis delivers his speech during the Angelus noon prayer he recited from the window of his studio overlooking St.Pter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. The pontiff said his thoughts are with the families of the victims, the wounded and the displaced following deadly bridge collapse in Italy. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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Pope Francis delivers his speech during the Angelus noon prayer he recited from the window of his studio overlooking St.Pter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. The pontiff said his thoughts are with the families of the victims, the wounded and the displaced following deadly bridge collapse in Italy. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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A truck is blocked at the end of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 90 meters (nearly 300 feet) into a heap of rubble below. (Luca Zennaro/ANSA via AP)
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Pope Francis delivers his speech during the Angelus noon prayer he recited from the window of his studio overlooking St.Pter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. The pontiff said his thoughts are with the families of the victims, the wounded and the displaced following deadly bridge collapse in Italy. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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Cars and trucks are left on a section of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. A bridge on a main highway linking Italy with France collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa during a sudden, violent storm, sending vehicles plunging 90 meters (nearly 300 feet) into a heap of rubble below. (AP Photo/Nicola Marfisi)
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A view of the Morandi highway bridge that collapsed in Genoa, northern Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. A large section of the bridge collapsed over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova during a sudden and violent storm, leaving vehicles crushed in rubble below. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
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