The Associated Press (AP) reports that top Italian officials have immediately called for cruise ships to be banned from using the Giudecca Canal in Venice after an out-of-control cruise ship rammed both a dock and a river tourist boat in the Italian city.
Videos of the crash show the MSC Opera cruise ship, apparently unable to halt its momentum, blaring its horn as it plows into a much smaller river boat and the dock Sunday as people on the dock run away in panic.
"Today's accident in the port of Venice proves that cruise ships shouldn't be allowed to pass down the Giudecca anymore. After many years of inertia, we are finally close to a solution to protect both the lagoon and tourism." Says Danilo Toninelli, Italy's transport minister.
The AP says four older female tourists were injured as they tried to run away as the cruise ship rammed the tourist boat.
They say MSC Cruises, an international cruise ship line with its headquarters in Geneva, says its ship, the MSC Opera, experienced a mechanical problem Sunday as it was docking at a passenger terminal in Venice. The company says it is cooperating with authorities to figure out what happened.
The company says the MSC Opera is waiting to be allowed to dock at a terminal where large ships moor at Venice's waterfront.
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