Video: Watch as Venice gondola capsizes after tourists refuse to stop taking selfies
A group of six tourists capsized their gondola during a water tour of Venice on Sunday after failing to follow instructions to wait momentarily before taking selfies.
The gondolier was attempting to maneuver the boat under a “low bridge along the Rio de la Verona canal” when several of his passengers moved to one side, causing the gondola to capsize, The Telegraph reported.
Though neither the gondolier nor the tourists were injured in their icy swim, “at least one of the tourists lost a cellphone in the mishap,” according to CNN. The group of six was taken to La Fenice opera house to warm up after getting out of the water.
Though they receive a lot of attention when they do happen, gondola accidents are rare. Since 2013, when a German tourist died in a gondola-ferry collision, Venice has increased gondola safety regulations, per The Guardian.
Amid the changes in 2013, Matteo Secchi, spokesman for the local activists’ group Venessia, said, “It all comes back to how Venice cannot support the tourists who come here, it is a simple question of space. The difference is that changes get made when people die.”
The persistent issue of tourism-driven over-crowding will make Venice “the first city in the world to charge daytripper visitors,” CNN reported. The city will test out using fees to limit tourists and will begin in April 2024, stretching to mid-July.
The fee will be 5 euros, which is roughly $5.40.
