Venice gondola capsized after tourists reportedly stood to take selfies despite warnings
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The boat was overturned when the gondolier, who instructed his passengers to remain seated, was trying to navigate a low bridge.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM IENARIDENS69/TIKTOK
A group of tourists stood up on a gondola in Venice to take selfies despite warnings and found themselves in cold water moments later when the boat they were in capsized.
The boat was overturned when the gondolier, who instructed his passengers to remain seated, was trying to navigate a low bridge near St. Mark’s Square, media reports said. He also 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 onto the overturned boat or the gondola nearby. Mandarin-speaking passengers can also be heard in the video, which has chalked up 4.3 million views since it was first posted on Dec 4.
They were later brought to safety unscathed and 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 said.
Since 2020, gondola tours have reduced their passenger capacity
The number of passengers allowed to board a gondola da nolo, which offers the classic tour of the city’s canals, was decreased 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.
To combat overtourism, visitors will have to pay an entrance fee
In 2022, a tourist suffered minor injuries after he fell into the crater of Mount Vesuvius while trying to retrieve his mobile phone, which slipped out of his hand while he was taking a selfie, The Guardian reported.
