Five people are reportedly injured after an enormous out-of-control cruise ship crashed into a tourist boat and a crowded dock in a busy Venice canal on Sunday, LADBible reported.
The incident has reignited calls for restrictions on cruise ships from entering the shore of the popular tourist location.
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The cruise ship reportedly experienced a mechanical problem while attempting to dock at a passenger terminal in Venice.
The two tugboats that were guiding the ship into the shore tried to stop it but were unable to prevent the massive ship from crashing, CTV News reported.
Davide Calderan, president of a towboat association in Venice, gave a statement on the events leading up to the crash.
“The two towboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat,” he said.
He also explained that the cruise ship’s engine was locked when the captain called for help.
Video of the incident shows footage of people fleeing the dock in panic as the cruise ship charges towards them.
The ship, known as the MSC Opera, first collided with the much smaller River Countess tour boat, which was docked at the time of the crash.
In the video, the towering cruise ship blares its horns as a warning to those in its way that it’s struggling to slow down.
People can be seen running from the docks, some struggling to disembark from the docked tourist boat, before the cruise ship eventually slammed into the dock.
One woman who witnessed the crash described it as being a “very dramatic scene.”
“[The boat was] advancing slowly but inevitably towards the dock,” Elisabetta Pasqualin told CTV News. “The bow of the ship crashed hard into the bank with its massive weight crushing a big piece of it. Sirens were wailing loudly; it was a very dramatic scene.”
When the cruise ship collided with the tourist boat, she said the significantly smaller vessel looked like it was “made of plastic or paper” rather than steel.”
The crash has locals demanding for tighter restrictions on cruise ships entering into the shore.
Activists in Venice have reportedly been advocating for years not to allow these huge ships so close to shore, as they’re damaging the precious ecosystem there.
Jane Da Mosto, an environmental scientist and executive director of We Are Here Venice, told CTV this crash is like “everyone’s worst fears come true.”
“There were 111 people on the river cruise boat that the big ship crashed into,” she said. “They could have all died.”
She also said the ship could have easily continued to plow through the concrete embankment and “hit houses, monuments and crowds of people.”
Italy’s environment minister Sergio Costa to say this crash has proven everyone’s fears and concerns right.
The country’s port officials have announced that they are working on the accident and looking into the significant traffic block it has caused in the busy canal.
