Four people have been injured after a cruise ship crashed into a tourist river boat on a busy canal in Venice.

The collision happened at about 8.30am on the Giudecca Canal, a major route leading to the Italian city’s famous St Mark’s Square.

Video of the crash has emerged which shows the MSC Opera cruise ship plowing into the River Countess boat and the dock as people run away in panic.

Italian media reports four people were left with bruises, and two were taken to hospital as a precaution.

The cruise ship has a capacity of 2,679 passengers and weighs 65,591 tons.

MSC Cruises said the ship was about to dock at a passenger terminal in Venice when it had mechanical issues.

Two towboats which were guiding the MSC Opera attempted to stop the massive cruise ship from plowing into the much smaller boat, but were unable to prevent the crash.

“The two towboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat,” Davide Calderan, president of a towboat association in Venice, told the Italian news agency Ansa.

Emergency workers said the ship appeared to lose control after a steel cable tying it to the towboat snapped.

Mr Calderan added that the cruise ship’s engine was locked as the captain called for help.

According to the ship’s sailing schedule, the MSC Opera started its journey from Venice on 26 May, before sailing to Kotor, Montenegro, and Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu in Greece.

It was returning to Venice when the crash happened.

Venice is popular with tourists and cruise ships, but in recent years their popularity has caused tensions with residents.

Following the accident, there have been renewed calls to ban cruise ships in Venice.

Last week, a cruise liner crashed with a pleasure boat on the Danube in Budapest, killing seven people and leaving 21 missing, presumed dead.

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