A towering, out-of-control cruise ship rammed into a dock and a tourist river boat on a busy Venice canal on Sunday morning, injuring four tourists and sparking new calls for placing restrictions on cruise ships in the famed but strained tourist city.

The collision happened about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on the Giudecca Canal, a major thoroughfare that leads to St. MarkB次元官网网址檚 Square in the northeastern Italian city.

The cruise ship, apparently unable to stop, blared its horn as it plows into the much smaller river boat and the dock as dozens of people run away in panic.

Elisabetta Pasqualin was watering plants on her terrace when she heard warning sirens and stepped out to see the crash.

B次元官网网址淭here was this huge ship in a diagonal position in the Giudecca Canal, with a tugboat near which seemed like it couldnB次元官网网址檛 do anything,B次元官网网址� she said.

She described the ship B次元官网网址渁dvancing slowly but inevitably towards the dock.B次元官网网址� She said B次元官网网址渢he 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.B次元官网网址�

When the cruise ship rammed the river boat, she said the smaller vessel looked like it was B次元官网网址渕ade of plastic or paperB次元官网网址� rather than steel.

Medical authorities say four female tourists B次元官网网址� an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72 B次元官网网址� were injured falling or trying to run away when the cruise ship rammed into the tourist boat, the River Countess.

Now this is terrifying. Venice. Cruise ship. The two donB次元官网网址檛 go together.

B次元官网网址� WALDEMAR JANUSZCZAK (@JANUSZCZAK)

Venice is a tremendously popular site for both tourists and cruise ships, especially during the summer tourist season.

The cruise shipB次元官网网址檚 owner, MSC Cruises, said the ship, the MSC Opera, was about to dock at a passenger terminal in Venice when it had a mechanical problem. Two tugboats guiding the cruise ship into Venice tried to stop the massive cruise ship, but they were unable to prevent it from ramming into the river boat.

B次元官网网址淭he two tugboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat,B次元官网网址� Davide Calderan, president of a tugboat association in Venice, told the Italian news agency ANSA.

Calderan said the cruise shipB次元官网网址檚 engine was locked when the captain called for help.

Following the collision, calls for banning cruise ships in Venice, long a source of contention in the over-extended tourist city, were renewed.

For many, the crash served as a wake-up call. Opponents say cruise ships are out-of-scale for Venice, cause pollution, endanger the lagoonB次元官网网址檚 ecosystem and a danger.

B次元官网网址淥bviously, weB次元官网网址檝e seen today that our worst fears have come true,B次元官网网址� said Jane Da Mosto, an environmental scientist and executive director of We Are Here Venice. Her group backs efforts to ban cruise ships from Venice.

B次元官网网址淭here were 111 people on the river cruise boat that the big ship crashed into. They could have all died,B次元官网网址� she said. She said the cruise ship could have plowed through the concrete embankment and B次元官网网址渉it houses, monuments and crowds of people.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he port authority, the government ministers, the other institutions have often tried to ridicule the resistance movement against the cruise ships, saying that an accident like this could never occur,B次元官网网址� she added. B次元官网网址淭he government shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be so weak in giving in to the pressure of the lobby groups, like the cruise ship companies.B次元官网网址�

The collision came four days after a river cruise ship collided with a sightseeing boat carrying South Korean tourists in HungaryB次元官网网址檚 capital, killing seven and leaving 21 others missing.

Not everyone in Venice is opposed to the cruise ships. Pasqualin, the woman who witnessed the collision, counted herself among those prior to SundayB次元官网网址檚 crash.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e always been positive about the ships, but I have to admit IB次元官网网址檝e started to change my mind now, because this was a tragic, terrible and dramatic scene,B次元官网网址� she said.

Italian officials said the collision underscored the need to ban cruise ships from using the busy Giudecca Canal, but they stopped short of calling for a ban on cruise ships.

B次元官网网址淭odayB次元官网网址檚 accident in the port of Venice proves that cruise ships shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be allowed to pass down the Giudecca anymore,B次元官网网址� said Danilo Toninelli, ItalyB次元官网网址檚 transport minister. B次元官网网址淎fter many years of inertia, we are finally close to a solution to protect both the lagoon and tourism.B次元官网网址�

The MSC Opera was built in 2004. It can carry over 2,675 passengers in 1,071 cabins. According to its sailing schedule, it left Venice on May 26 and travelled to Kotor, Montenegro, and Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu in Greece before returning Sunday to Venice.

This occurred at 09:00 this morning in Venice, another reason if it was needed why Cruise ships should be up close in Venice...

B次元官网网址� Iain Reid (@beanotownphoto)

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Cain Burdeau reported from Castelbuono, Sicily.

Cain Burdeau And Luca Bruno, The Associated Press