Gondola capsizes as tourists stand in it for selfies
A group of tourists on a goldola in Venice stood up to take selfies despite warnings and found themselves in cold water moments later when the vessel capsized.
According to media reports, the gondola overturned when the gondolier, who instructed his passengers to remain seated, was trying to navigate a low bridge near St Mark’s Square. He too ended up in the water and tried to rescue his passengers.
The temperature in Venice currently ranges between 7 and 9 deg C in the day.
In a video posted by user @ienaridens69 on TikTok, at least six people are seen holding on to the hull of the capsized gondola or clinging to the side of a nearby gondola. The tourists can be heard speaking in Mandarin in the video, which has raked in 4.3 million views since it was first posted on Dec 4.
The tourists were later brought to safety and they sought refuge at the nearby La Fenice theatre, CNN reported. While no one was injured, at least one of the tourists lost a mobile phone during the ordeal.
Although the chairs and blankets of the gondola were thrown into the canal, the boat itself was undamaged, according to CNN.
To manoeuvre under the bridge, the gondolier requires optimal balance of weight onboard but his passengers reportedly ignored his orders to sit down, causing the boat to tip over, The Guardian reported.
Since 2020, gondola tours have reduced their passenger capacity due to “overweight” tourists.
The number of passengers allowed to board a gondola da nolo, which offers the classic tour of the city’s canals, was reduced from six at a time to five. For the larger gondola da parada, which is used to take people across the Grand Canal, the number was cut from 14 to 12.
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