Venice cruise ship slams into docked boat, injuries reported
The incident, which happened Sunday, has already led to renewed calls to ban cruise ships from the ancient city's canals.
A massive cruise ship crashed into a mid-sized boat in Venice's Giudecca canal Sunday, sending at least five people to hospital.
The 275-metre long MSC Opera slammed into the dock, where the riverboat River Countess was moored, despite efforts by tugboats to avert the collision (according to the BBC) on Sunday. MSC Cruises, which owns the MSC Opera, says the massive ship was suffering a mechanical problem at the time, according to ABC News.
ABC reports five people aboard the riverboat were hurt while trying to escape from the crash. One was soon released, but the other four will stay in hospital or a few more days.
Much of Venice sprawls across the islands of a shallow lagoon. Though it began life as a haven for refugees fleeing the collapsing West Roman Empire, it gradually flourished into a powerful maritime republic and a key power in the eastern Mediterranean.
Though its heyday is long past, the city's remarkable network of canals and medieval and renaissance architecture has made it one of the world's premium tourist attractions. However, the rise of cruise ships has been controversial in the city, due to concerns over collisions, erosion due to the ships' large wakes, and oversaturation by tourists. Sunday's incident has led to renewed calls by politicians to ban the ships from the city's major canals.