Cruise Ship Injures Five People As It Crashes Into Tourist Boat In Venice

At least five people have reportedly been injured after a huge cruise ship crashed into a tourist boat and dock on a busy Venice canal.

Video footage has emerged of the MSC Opera cruise ship colliding with the River Countess boat at the Giudecca Canal this morning (June 2) as people ran away from the dock in panic.

The ship's horn can be heard blaring as it struggles to slow down. The cruise's ship owner, MSC Cruises, said that those in control were trying to dock at a passenger terminal when the vehicle suffered a mechanical fault.

Davide Calderan, president of a towboat association in Venice, said: "The two towboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat."

Luckily no one was seriously injured, although reports state that at least five people were left with bruises, four of whom were on the smaller boat.

Venice resident Ida Ossi told local media: "Some scared passengers dived into the water, while others fled the boat."

The accident comes just days after seven people were killed and 21 left missing after a small boat was hit by a cruise ship on the Danube in Budapest.

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In Venice, activists have been campaigning for years asking that local authorities ban cruise ships from entering the shore, as those that sail too close end up damaging the fragile ecosystem.

This recent accident has reignited fresh debates, with those campaigning for the ban noting that the waves the ships create erode the foundations of the lagoon city and cause floods in areas like St Mark's Square.

Taking to Twitter, Italy's environment minister Sergio Costa wrote: "What happened in the port of Venice is confirmation of what we have been saying for some time.

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"Cruise ships must not sail down the Giudecca. We have been working on moving them for months now... and are nearing a solution."

The country's port officials have said they're working on the accident and are looking to unblock the canal.

Pino Musolino of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority explained: "From tomorrow we need to move, all together and as quickly as possible, to resolve the cruise ship traffic problem."

Topics: World News, Italy

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Daisy is a UK-based freelance journalist with too many opinions. She loves everything film and music-related and has a track record writing for Little White Lies, BWRC, and Film Daily. Contact her at [email protected]