Three dead and six missing after ship hits port tower

At least three people have been killed after a cargo ship crashed into a control tower in Genoa’s port.

Rescuers fear up to six remain trapped inside a submerged lift after the concrete and glass tower collapsed into the water following the impact with the 784-foot Jolly Nero.

One of the victims was thought to be a woman in her thirties while the other two were male. Four were taken to hospital after the crash last night with broken bones and chest wounds. The collision occurred during a shift change, making the accounting of people more difficult.

Rescue workers were today searching the rubble while divers scoured the water around the dock. All that was left of the control tower was the mangled exterior staircase, tilted to its side. The Italian ship was manoeuvring out of the port with the help of tugboats in calm conditions.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear but a Genoa newspaper quoted the Jolly Nero’s captain as saying that two engines appeared to have failed and “we lost control”.

The ship’s owner, Stefano Messina, who arrived soon after the crash had tears in his eyes as he told journalists: “Nothing like this has ever happened before, we are desperate.”