Two drivers sustained minor injuries today (8 April) as a huge bridge collapsed in northern Italy.

The 850ft bridge near the town of Aulla, roughly midway between Genoa and Florence, fell at around 10.25am local time (8.25am GMT), but there were no deaths, with only two van drivers sustaining minor injuries.

One of the van drivers was airlifted to hospital, but only sustained minor injuries from falling masonry, while the other van driver was able to exit his vehicle in time but was reportedly suffering from shock.

Ordinarily, the road would have been filled with cars, but due to lockdown measures it was all but empty.

The state of Italian bridges and roads has been a divisive political subject in the country since 43 people died in the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa in August 2018.

Michele de Pascale, head of the Italian provinces union Unione delle province d’Italia (UPI), said it was fortunate this collapse didn’t have similarly tragic consequences.

According to the Tiscali News, he said: “It’s a sheer stroke of luck that a collapse hasn’t turned into a tragedy – because of a lack of traffic caused by the coronavirus emergency.

“In normal times it’s a very busy bridge, but with the blockade for coronavirus this morning when the collapse occurred there were only the two vans.”

A crack in the bridge was reported last November, but the bridge was reopened to traffic after being repaired and inspected by technicians.

Local mayor Roberto Valettini said he had sent three letters to the bridge operator, Anas, warning about the condition of the bridge, according to the BBC.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Paola De Micheli has asked Anas – which is run by state-owned railway group Ferrovie dello Stato – for a report on the collapse.