Italy’s Leader Demands Safe Roads; Bridge Toll Rises to 43

People arrive to attend a funeral service for some of the victims of a collapsed highway bridge in Genoa, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. Aug. 18 has been declared a national day of mourning in Italy and includes a state funeral at the industrial port city's fair grounds for those who plunged to their deaths as the 45-meter (150-foot) tall Morandi Bridge gave way on Aug.14. AP/Gregorio Borgia

GENOA, Italy—Italy’s president demanded guarantees Aug. 18 that all the nation’s roads are safe following the Genoa highway bridge collapse, after he hugged and comforted mourners at a state funeral in the grieving port city.

President Sergio Mattarella spoke quietly to victims’ families before the ceremony began on Genoa’s fairgrounds. Usually reserved in demeanor, Mattarella was embraced tightly for a long moment by one distraught woman.