FLORENCE, ITALY – Seven people were dead and two remained missing Wednesday after a container ship, The Jolly Nero, slammed into the control tower at the e port of Genoa during the night.
Divers were still attempting to retrieve bodies trapped in the underwater rubble. 14 people were in the 50-meter tower at the time of the accident, including a marine officer and nine sailors. Four people were rescued and are hospitalized, two in serious condition.
The accident happened during a shift change, meaning that more people than usual were present on the tower. A number of the victims were retrieved around the sunken elevator to the tower.
One of the Genoa dead is Michele Robazza, a pilots for the port, who lived in Livorno, Tuscany. He leaves a wike and two children.
It was the deadliest maritime accident in Italy since the Costa Concordia cruise liner crashed off the coast of Tuscany early last year, killing 32 people.