Gondola in Venice capsizes after tourists wouldn’t stop taking selfies

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A boatful of tourists in Venice found themselves dumped and dunked after their gondola capsized when they wouldn’t stop taking selfies.

The passengers, reportedly a group from China, had been moving around the gondola to take photos, ignoring the gondolier’s warnings to stay seated, the Guardian reported, citing local press.

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The gondolier had been navigating the boat under a bridge near St. Mark’s Square when it overturned, according to the publication.

He fell into the water and then tried to help rescue the others.

The gondolier’s tricky manoeuvre under the bridge required the maximum balance of weight onboard, but the passengers reportedly ignored his orders to sit down and they instead kept standing up and taking photos, resulting in the boat tipping over.

The incident was captured by witnesses who shared footage on social media.

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A video posted to TikTok by user Luca Ultra Effe showed passengers in the water grabbing onto the side of the vessel while others floundered behind them.

The tourists were brought to safety and provided with “hospitality and warmth” at a nearby theatre, according to Instagram account Venezia Non e Disneyland (Venice Is Not Disneyland), which chronicles the mishaps of tourists in the city.

In 2020, Venice’s gondoliers’ association reduced capacity on their boats, claiming passengers have become increasingly overweight.

“It’s true that compared with 10 or 15 years ago, tourists weigh a bit more,” Andrea Balbi, gondoliers’ association president, told the Guardian at the time.

The limit on a gondola da nolo (which offers classic tours of the canals) was cut from six people to five, while a gondola da parade (boats used mainly to cross the Grand Canal), was reduced from 14 passengers to 12.

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