Rome: Massive Fire Brings Down Part Of Iconic 19th Century Bridge | SEE VIDEO

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A massive fire destroyed part of a historic bridge on the Tiber river Saturday midnight. The fire could have been caused by a gas canister explosion, news agency AP reported.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Quoting firefighters, the report said they managed to put out the flames by 4 am Sunday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Industry Bridge, also called the &ldquo;Iron Bridge&rdquo; locally, is located near the Ostiense neighbourhood in Rome.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No one was injured in the fire, but a few establishments near the bridge, mainly&nbsp; riverside nightclubs, were evacuated as a precaution, AP reported, quoting Italian state TV.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the report, the blaze might have started in the shacks occupied by homeless people on the river banks near the bridge.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The local authorities believe it might have been started by a cooking gas canister explosion at one of the shacks.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A video of the fire shows a section of the bridge, appearing to be a pedestrian walkway, broke off and fell into the river.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a tweet, firefighters said the bridge is currently very dangerous for use. They have closed it until the damaged portion is repaired.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="it">Eccolo che viene gi&ugrave;. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pontediferro?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pontediferro</a> <a href="https://t.co/AOtEusNSYo">pic.twitter.com/AOtEusNSYo</a></p> &mdash; Baruda (@baruda) <a href="https://twitter.com/baruda/status/1444422711233679363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <p> <script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script> </p> <h3><strong>&nbsp;</strong></h3> <figure class="image"><img src="https://ift.tt/3uzeniG" /> <figcaption>A view of the 'Ponte di Ferro (iron bridge)' bridge in Rome after the fire | Photo: Getty</figcaption> </figure> <h3><strong>History Of &lsquo;Iron Bridge&rsquo;</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to AP, the bridge was inaugurated in 1863 by Pope Pius IX, and that it was one of the last major construction works carried out in Rome in the last few years of the papal state controlling it, before it became the capital of a unified Italy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The bridge originally served as a railway bridge, but was now being used only for cars and pedestrian traffic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 1944, it is said, 10 women were executed on this bridge by German SS troops who were occupying Rome during World War II. These women had occupied a bakery to feed their families as war had made food scarce in Rome.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A plaque on the bridge pays tribute to the 10 women, the AP report said.</span></p> <p>The 131-metre long bridge is called 'Ponte di Ferro' or Iron Bridge because most of other bridges in Rome are made of stone, Reuters reported.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>