Page 29 - ATA

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 3 June 2019

5 injured in Venice as cruise ship slams into tourist boat

the river cruise boat that
the big ship crashed into.
They could have all died,”
she said.
She said the cruise ship
could have plowed
through the concrete em-
bankment and “hit houses,
monuments and crowds of
people.”
“The port authority, the
government ministers, the
other institutions have often
tried to ridicule the resis-
tance movement against
the cruise ships, saying that
an accident like this could
never occur,” she added.
“The government shouldn’t
be so weak in giving in to
the pressure of the lobby
groups, like the cruise ship
companies.”
The collision came four
days after a river cruise ship
collided with a sightseeing
boat carrying South Korean
A partial view of the damaged prow of the MSC Opera cruise ship, moored at the Venice harbor, Italy, Sunday, June 2, 2019. tourists in Hungary’s capital,
Associated Press killing seven and leaving 21
By CAIN BURDEAU and the Giudecca Canal, with The cruise ship’s owner, heard saying. An investiga- others missing.
LUCA BRUNO a tugboat near which MSC Cruises, said the ves- tion was launched. Not everyone in Venice is
Associated Press seemed like it couldn’t do sel was about to dock at a The collision froze boat traf- opposed to the cruise ships.
VENICE, Italy (AP) — A tow- anything,” she said. passenger terminal in Ven- fic in the busy canal, and Pasqualin, the woman who
ering, out-of-control cruise She described the ship “ad- ice when it had a mechani- forced another MSC cruise witnessed the collision,
ship rammed into a dock vancing slowly but inevita- cal problem. ship to drop anchors in counted herself among
and a tourist riverboat on a bly towards the dock.” She Two tugboats guiding the front of the historic city as those prior to Sunday’s
busy Venice canal on Sun- said “the bow of the ship cruise ship into Venice tried it waited for the damaged crash.
day morning, injuring five crashed hard into the bank to stop the MSC Opera, but vessels to be removed. “I’ve always been positive
people, officials said. The with its massive weight they were unable to pre- Coincidentally, this famous about the ships, but I have
collision sparked new calls crushing a big piece of it. vent it from ramming into maritime city on Sunday to admit I’ve started to
for placing restrictions on Sirens were wailing loud- the riverboat. was celebrating an an- change my mind now, be-
cruise ships in the famed ly; it was a very dramatic “The two tugboats tried to cient tradition called the cause this was a tragic, ter-
city. scene.” stop the giant and then a “Marriage of the Sea,” rible and dramatic scene,”
The crash happened about When the cruise ship tow cable broke, cut by which features processions she said.
8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on the rammed the riverboat, the collision with the river- of boats. Italian officials said the colli-
Giudecca Canal, a major she said the smaller vessel boat,” Davide Calderan, But the crash forced parts sion underscored the need
thoroughfare that leads looked like it was “made president of a tugboat as- of the celebration to be to ban cruise ships from
to St. Mark’s Square in the of plastic or paper” rather sociation in Venice, told canceled, Italian media re- using the busy Giudecca
northeastern Italian city. than steel. the Italian news agency ported. Canal, but they stopped
The MSC Opera cruise Local officials said five ANSA. Following the collision, calls short of calling for a ban on
ship, apparently unable women aboard the river- Calderan said the cruise for banning cruise ships cruise ships.
to stop, blared its horn as boat were injured. They ship’s engine was locked in Venice, long a source “Today’s accident in the
it slammed into the much said one was released im- when the captain called of contention in the over- port of Venice proves that
smaller River Countess mediately from a hospital, for help. extended tourist city, were cruise ships shouldn’t be
boat and the dock as doz- while four others were ad- Italian media posted an renewed. allowed to pass down the
ens of people ran away vised to remain under med- audio clip of the MSC Op- For many, the crash served Giudecca anymore,” said
in panic. In videos of the ical care for a few days. era’s pilot telling emergen- as a wake-up call. Oppo- Danilo Toninelli, Italy’s trans-
crash, people were seen Earlier, medical authori- cy officials that the ship ex- nents say cruise ships are port minister. “After many
rushing to disembark from ties said four of the women perienced a loss of controls out-of-scale for Venice, years of inertia, we are fi-
the moored riverboat over — an American, a New and “activated all the pro- cause pollution, endanger nally close to a solution to
a short gangplank, and at Zealander and two Aus- cedures to avoid what in the lagoon’s ecosystem protect both the lagoon
least two people were left tralians between the ages the end happened, which and a danger. and tourism.”
caught on the walkway as of 67 and 72 — were in- was an impact.” “Obviously, we’ve seen The MSC Opera was built in
the vessel was dislodged jured falling or trying to On an audio clip, the pilot today that our worst fears 2004. It can carry over 2,675
from the pier. run away when the cruise said anchors were dropped have come true,” said passengers in 1,071 cabins.
Elisabetta Pasqualin was ship rammed into the River and that tugboats con- Jane Da Mosto, an environ- According to its sailing
watering plants on her ter- Countess. nected to the ship’s bow mental scientist and execu- schedule, it left Venice on
race when she heard warn- Venice is a tremendously and stern took maneuvers tive director of We Are Here May 26 and traveled to
ing sirens and stepped out popular site for both tourists to stop the ship. Venice. Her group backs Kotor, Montenegro, and
to see the crash. and cruise ships, especially “Here on the bridge, we efforts to ban cruise ships Mykonos, Santorini and
“There was this huge ship during the summer tourist don’t understand what from Venice. Corfu in Greece before re-
in a diagonal position in season. happened,” the pilot is “There were 111 people on turning Sunday to Venice.q