A cruise ship lost control and plowed into a tourist boat in Venice, Italy, according to reports and video footage of the June 2 incident.
Four people were injured in the crash, according to the BBC, which identified the vessel as the MSC Opera.
The cruise ship, about 900 feet in length, collided with a dock and a smaller tourist boat after it reportedly lost control.
Here the video from people angle escaping from cruise ship losing control approaching the pier in Venice.
The noise of siren and of clash is totally frightening, looking like a scene from a disaster movie #grandinavi pic.twitter.com/TGIIR2oFut— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) June 2, 2019
“The noise of siren and of clash is totally frightening, looking like a scene from a disaster movie,” wrote Tancredi Palmeri, who included a video of the incident. He also described the scene as “absolutely frightening.”
The footage shows people running for their lives as the ship is seen careening toward the dock. It also sounds its horn, seemingly as a warning.
My God. Absolutely frightening video of what happened this morning in Venice when a cruise ship lost control approaching the pier #grandinavi pic.twitter.com/2rJseEdk4N
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) June 2, 2019
“The two towboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat,” Davide Calderan, president of a towboat association in Venice, told local news outlets, as reported by the New York Daily News.
The Opera was slated to dock at a passenger terminal when an apparent mechanical problem caused the issue, CNN reported.
“Investigations to understand the exact causes of the events are currently in progress,” MSC Cruises told the network. The vessel has “received authorization to be moored at the Marittima terminal, as planned,” the statement reads.
Breathless view of from the cruise ship itself crashing into Venice pier #grandinavi pic.twitter.com/rSccvAyTZv
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) June 2, 2019
Elisabetta Pasqualin was tending to plants on her terrace when she heard sirens and came outside to see the crash, according to The Associated Press. “There was this huge ship in a diagonal position in the Giudecca Canal, with a tugboat near which seemed like it couldn’t do anything,” she said.
She described the ship “advancing slowly but inevitably towards the dock.” She said that “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.”
#Venezia #VIDEO la nave da crociera #Opera di @MSC_Crociere fuori controllo ha speronato stamattina il battello fluviale #Michelangelo e la banchina.
Qualcuno ci spiegherà perché le navi che salvano vite sono sotto sequestro, mentre queste #grandinavi sono libere di far danni. pic.twitter.com/mSyhCMvvZc
— Beppe Caccia (@beppecaccia) June 2, 2019
The country’s Environment Minister, Sergio Costa, tweeted that Sunday’s crash is a “confirmation of what we have been saying for a long time: Cruise ships must not sail down the Giudecca (canal).”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
