A loud horn screeches through the air warning civilians to flee.
On Sunday morning, a large cruise ship lost control and crashed violently into a busy Venice canal. Given the size of the boat and the crowded area, thankfully only five tourists were injured during the collision.
Here are more details from CBC.
The collision happened around 8:30 a.m. local time on the Giudecca Canal, a major thoroughfare that leads to Saint Mark’s Square in the northeastern Italian city. Videos of the crash show the cruise ship, apparently unable to halt its momentum, blaring its horn as it plows into the much smaller boat, the River Countess, and the dock while people nearby run away in panic.
Italian media initially reported that at least five people were injured. Later, medical officials said four female tourists were hurt as they tried to run away on the San Basilio pier — an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72. Elisabetta Pasqualin was watering plants on her terrace when she heard warning sirens and stepped out to see the crash.
“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 toward the dock.” She said “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 rammed the river boat, she said the smaller vessel looked like it was “made of plastic or paper” rather than steel.
Following the crash, government officials have called for cruise ships to be banned from using the Giudecca Canal due to their overwhelming size.
Flip the page for video of the cruise ship crashing into the dock.