A group of tourists in Venice found themselves in cold water after their gondola capsized in an Italian canal. According to The Guardian, the group from China had moved around the gondola taking selfies instead of following the gondolier's directions to remain seated. The gondolier had guided the boat under a low bridge near St. Mark's Square when it capsized. The gondolier himself fell into the dark, cold canal before trying to help save the others.
The entire incident was captured on video and shared widely online. The footage shows tourists clinging to the side of the overturned ship or swimming towards passing boats after diving into the waters of Venice.
A post on the Instagram page of Venezia Non e Disneyland (Venice is not Disneyland) said the group was taken to safety and provided with “hospitality and warmth” at the nearby La Fenice theater.
In the comments section of the post, netizens seemed to have very little sympathy for the Chinese tourists. “That's what happens when you can't follow simple instructions,” one user wrote. “They were told what to do… they ignored the rules… Enjoy being wet,” said another.
Notably, since 2020, gondola rides have seen a reduction in passenger capacity due to “overweight tourists” with gondola parades, which are used to take passengers across the Grand Canal, where there are now only twelve seats.
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Meanwhile, this is not the first time that taking selfies has posed a health risk to tourists. Earlier this year, a tourist in Italy fell into a crater on Mount Vesuvius when he tried to take a selfie at the top of the volcano and his phone fell from his hands.
Elsewhere, a woman was caught posing for photos while hanging from the railing of a Royal Caribbean ship and was banned for life by the cruise line for “reckless and dangerous posing for a photo.”
According to The independentToo many dangerous selfies also forced the closure of the outer carriage of the Coastal Pacific train in New Zealand in 2019, after travelers endangered their lives by leaning out of the carriage to take selfies, photos and videos of the scenery.