SBS Italian news, with a slower pace. This is Slow Italian, Fast Learning, the very best of the week’s news, read at a slower pace, with Italian and English text available.
Italian
Due australiani sono tra i feriti dopo che una nave fuori controllo si è schiantata contro un pontile e una barca turistica ancorata, a Venezia.
La collisione è avvenuta nelle prime ore della domenica mattina ora locale sul Canale della Giudecca, una grande arteria che porta a Piazza San Marco.
La registrazione video mostra la nave da crociera, apparsa incapace di arrestare il suo slancio, suonare la sua sirena mentre va a sbattere contro la molto più piccola barca da fiume e il molo.
Anche gli australiani a bordo dell'M-S-C Opera hanno filmato lo scontro.
WOMAN: "Oh my god."
MAN 1: "I just hope nobody got hurt down below."
WOMAN: "I know."
MAN 2: "I just hope no one's died, no one got killed down there."
WOMAN: "Jesus Christ, we've hit it, we've hit the pier."
MAN : "Yeah they hit it, they've hit the boat and the pier. Nope, and we're still going up."
L’azienda proprietaria della nave da crociera, MSC Crociere, sostiene che la nave stava per attraccare ad un terminal passeggeri a Venezia quando ha avuto un problema meccanico.
Due rimorchiatori che guidavano la nave hanno cercato di fermarla, ma non sono stati in grado in grado di impedirle di sbattere contro la barca sul fiume.
I soccorritori ritengono che la nave possa aver perso il controllo dopo che un cavo d'acciaio che la legava a un rimorchiatore si è spezzato.
Elisabetta Pasqualin, residente a Venezia, spiega ciò che ha visto dalla sua terrazza.
(Italian, then trans:) "I heard people crying and talking. They were probably on the dock below (Pasqualin's building) and I couldn't see them, just hear. Altogether there were a lot of voices of people crying, shouting and talking. And later I heard a choir of voices of people crying and screaming towards the big cruise ships over what happened. So there were a lot of people there, and it was also noisy because cars started arriving that were supposed to remove the tourists."
La sicurezza delle grandi navi nelle città europee è stata evidenziata recentemente quando una nave da crociera da fiume si è scontrata con una nave turistica che trasportava turisti sudcoreani nella capitale ungherese di Budapest, uccidendo sette persone e causando molti altri dispersi.
Venezia è anche un luogo popolare sia per i turisti che per le navi da crociera, specialmente durante la stagione turistica estiva europea.
Il residente Andrea si aspetta che le navi da crociera possano essere bandite in seguito all’ultimo scontro.
(Italian, then trans:) "It is a problem, but half of the city earn thanks to these cruise ships. Before, they said they will send cruise ships away slowly. Now that this happen, they will do it immediately.
Le grandi navi sono state a lungo una fonte di dibattito, con gli oppositori che dicono che sono troppo grandi per la piccola città, provocano troppo inquinamento e mettono in pericolo l'ecosistema della laguna.
La signora Pasqualin ritiene che le autorità potrebbero non essere in grado di continuare a far entrare nel porto di Venezia queste navi.
(Italian, then trans:) "Obviously, if this would have happened in other more vulnerable parts of Venice you start to think more seriously about it. I've always been positive about the ships, but I have to admit I've started to change my mind now, because this was a tragic, terrible and dramatic scene."
English
Two Australians were among those injured after an out-of-control ship crashed into a wharf, and a docked tourist boat, in Venice.
The collision happened in the early hours of Sunday morning local time on the Giudecca Canal, a major thoroughfare that leads to Saint Mark's Square.
Video footage shows the cruise ship, apparently unable to halt its momentum, blaring its horn as it plows into the much smaller river boat and the dock.
Australians on board the M-S-C Opera were also filming the collision.
WOMAN: "Oh my god."
MAN 1: "I just hope nobody got hurt down below."
WOMAN: "I know."
MAN 2: "I just hope no one's died, no one got killed down there."
WOMAN: "Jesus Christ, we've hit it, we've hit the pier."
MAN : "Yeah they hit it, they've hit the boat and the pier. Nope, and we're still going up."
The cruise ship's owner, MSC Cruises, says the ship was about to dock at a passenger terminal in Venice when it experienced a mechanical problem.
Two towboats guiding the ship tried to stop it, but were unable to prevent it from ramming into the river boat.
Emergency workers believe the ship may have lost control after a steel cable that tied it to a tugboat snapped.
Venice resident Elisabetta Pasqualin explains what she witnessed from her terrace.
(Italian, then trans:) "I heard people crying and talking. They were probably on the dock below (Pasqualin's building) and I couldn't see them, just hear. Altogether there were a lot of voices of people crying, shouting and talking. And later I heard a choir of voices of people crying and screaming towards the big cruise ships over what happened. So there were a lot of people there, and it was also noisy because cars started arriving that were supposed to remove the tourists."
The safety of big ships in European cities was highlighted recently when a river cruise ship collided with a sightseeing boat carrying South Korean tourists in Hungary's capital Budapest, killing seven people and leaving several others missing.
Venice is also a popular site for both tourists and cruise ships, especially during the European summer tourist season.
Resident Andrea expects the cruise ships could be banned as a result of the latest accident.
(Italian, then trans:) "It is a problem, but half of the city earn thanks to these cruise ships. Before, they
said they will send cruise ships away slowly. Now that this happen, they will do it immediately.”
Large ships have long been a source of contention, with opponents saying they're just too big for the tiny city, cause too much pollution and endanger the lagoon's ecosystem.
Ms Pasqualin believes that authorities may not be able to continue to allow these ships in the Venice port.
(Italian, then trans:) "Obviously, if this would have happened in other more vulnerable parts of Venice you start to think more seriously about it. I've always been positive about the ships, but I have to admit I've started to change my mind now, because this was a tragic, terrible and dramatic scene."
Report by Samantha Beniac-Brooks
