Nine people were feared dead today after a container ship smashed into a control tower in Genoa in a night-time accident that left several missing and revived painful memories in Italy of a deadly cruise ship disaster last year.
Around 14 people were in the 50-metre high glass-topped tower when it was hit by the ship's stern as it ploughed into the dock. Some were thrown into the cold water, while others were trapped under rubble or in a lift which may have toppled into the sea, media reports said.
The vast red ship was following protocol and navigating towards the control tower, when it failed to reverse properly before turning out into open sea and rammed into the concrete and metal structure. Initial reports suggested it had suffered a mechanical failure.
Claudio Burlando, president of the Liguria region that is home to the northwestern port city, told SKY TG 24 that "the ship was being conducted by an on-board pilot and two tug boats, one in front and one behind."
"It was a manoeuvre done hundreds of times. We're all wondering what could have happened," he said.
One of the victims was reported to be Daniele Fratantonio, 30, who worked for the coast guard operations centre, while another was said to be a 47-year-old father of two.
Rescue workers dived into the inky waters around the port -- the busiest in Italy -- in a frantic search to find those missing after the crash, which seriously wounded four.
"The weather conditions were perfect, there was no wind, there were no other ships on the move," Luigi Merlo, the head of Genoa's port authority, told reporters.
One of the pilots was quoted as saying: "Two engines seem to have failed and we lost control of the ship."
Rescue workers were also using dogs trained to find people in earthquake zones to see if survivors were trapped under the rubble.
At dawn, a mobile telephone which began to ring beneath the wrecked structure raised the hopes of locating survivors, but it rang off before rescue workers could localise the sound.
The recovery of a fourth body from the water and a fifth inside the collapsed lift shaft reduced the number of people still missing to four, according to a spokesman for the Genoa Fire-brigade.
The accident happened during a shift change at the vast metal tower, which bent over by 45 degrees before collapsing, leaving only what looked like an emergency staircase standing.
"I heard a terrible din and rushed out of my cabin," Roberto, the port's night watch, told La Repubblica newspaper. "It was an incredible sight: the control tower was leaning perilously.
