There were 3 people who died and several others went missing in the water in the port of Genoa on Wednesday, after a container vessel smashed into a control tower in a night-time incident.
Part of the tower where about fourteen people were present at the time of the incident crashed into the water.
Medias reported that 1 of the victims was a woman in her 30s, while the other 2 were male.
Rescue professionals dived into the inky waters around the port of Genoa — one of the busiest in Italy — in a frantic night-time search in order to find around ten people believed to be missing.
6 others were informed seriously injured.
A worker of the Messina Line company, the company owner of the collided vessel confirmed that “there was an incident when the container vessel was leaving the Genoa port. It hit the tower, but we do not know why at this point, nor how many people are hurt.”
The incident that occurred half past midnight (22:30 GMT Tuesday), spooked Italians still reeling from the Costa Concordia nightmare off Giglio island in January 2012 that took 32 victims.
Emergency services at the scene in Genoa reported it wasn't clear whether some of those still missing people were trapped within the lift inside the control tower.
Rescue professionals were using dogs trained to search for people in earthquake zones to see if survivors were trapped under the rubble around the control tower.
The collided container vessel, the Italian Jolly Nero, is nearly 200-metres (655 feet) long, 30-metres (98 feet) wide, and has a GT of over 40,500. It was bound for Messina in Sicily.
The vessel’s owner, Stefano Messina that arrived at the port soon after the crash, choked back tears as he told journalists: “We're all utterly shocked. Nothing like this has ever occurred before, we are desperate.”
“I heard a horrible din and rushed out of my cab,” Roberto, the night watch of the port, told. “It was an incredible sight: the tower was leaning perilously.”
The impact took place during a shift change at the control tower, which meant that more people were present. The vast metal structure bent 45-degrees and a part of it fell into the sea.
“Based on the few details that have emerged so far, it was an incomprehensible manoeuvre that could only be explained by a mechanical failure.”
The captain was quoted as saying: “2 engines seem to have failed and we lost control of the vessel.”
by VesselFinder
