BUCHAREST, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two Romanian citizens were identified among the persons killed in the Genoa motorway bridge collapse on Tuesday in Italy, the Romanian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
"Among the persons who were killed in the incident discovered so far were also two Romanian citizens," informed the foreign ministry, adding that a mobile consular team, led by the chief of the consular office in Turin, went to the site of the accident and the hospitals in the area to grant consular assistance.
The first one identified was a 36-year-old man who worked as a driver for a French firm. He was driving a truck in transit to France when the bridge collapsed. The second Romanian citizen killed was a 44-year-old driver with dual citizenship, Romanian and Moldavian. It is possible for both of them to have worked on the same truck.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis expressed his deep sorrow over the tragic accident near Genoa, which caused 39 deaths so far.
According to a release of the Presidential Administration, Iohannis also sent condolences to his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella and to the Italian authorities.
Romanians are the largest immigrant group in Italy, with a population of over one million.
Italy has become the prime destination for emigrating Romanians, because of its relatively close distance from Romania and its similarity of culture and language.
The Morandi Bridge, built in the 1960s, is a major connection for the port city of Genoa.
The Italian government has termed the bridge collapse as "an immense tragedy".
