ROUGH CUT (No reporter narration) STORY: A motorway bridge collapsed on Tuesday over the northern Italian port city of Genoa in what the transport minister said was likely to be "an immense tragedy".

The head of the local ambulance service said there were "dozens of dead", Italian news agency Adnkronos reported.

The local fire brigade said also victims were likely after the bridge collapsed at around 11:30 a.m. during torrential rainfall.

Italian television showed images of the collapsed bridge, which was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s.

Restructuring work on the bridge was carried out in 2016.

It crumbled over a river, railroad tracks and buildings.