Dramatic footage has captured an out-of-control ferry crashing into two gondolas in Venice, sending tourists overboard into the city’s famous Grand Canal before coming to a stop in front of a building.

The public ferry, operated by the Alilaguna shuttle service, reportedly suffered mechanical problems that meant the operator was unable to shift gears.

Videos captured by onlookers show it speeding along the canal and managing to narrowly avoid two police boats before scraping the Rialto Bridge and then the Fondaco dei Tedeschi pier.

It then collides with the two gondolas, which capsize and tip a  gondolier and tourists into the water.

“The vessel continued, smashing into a building on the Rio delle Poste before halting,” reported Euro Weekly.

“Rescuers, including firefighters and local authorities, quickly pulled nine people from the water with violent churning from the impact.”

Alilaguna president Fabio Sacco said in a statement that no one appeared to have been injured in the accident.

“Our employee, who was very distressed, was taken to the hospital to undergo all the necessary tests, including alcohol and drug tests,” he said.

“The speedboat will be towed to a shipyard for investigation and then repairs: objects can be repaired, unlike people, for whom the worst was feared before knowing they were not in danger.”

Sacco also apologised to the gondoliers and the passengers on their gondolas, telling Italian media: “We are heartbroken for the tourists who were in the water and whose vacations were ruined.”

Venice is one of Europe’s most popular destinations for tourists, attracting around 15 million visitors in 2023.

It is one of many European cities where locals have protested in the past about the impacts over-tourism, including the number of boats on canals.