Selfie-taking tourists launched from Venice gondola after refusing to sit down
A group of rowdy tourists have ended up in the waters of a Venice canal after causing a ruckus onboard the boat.
Six passengers were travelling on a canal in the Italian hotspot when the boat was heading towards a low bridge that they needed to pass under.
The gondolier explained to the tourists that they needed to sit down and be still as the boat passed under the bridge, explaining that a change in weight would cause an issue.
Despite the gondolier's warning, the tourists continued to stand up and move around the narrow vessel to take selfies of their journey.
Predictably, ignoring the requests of the gondolier caused the vessel to capsize, sending the tourists into the freezing water as the gondolier jumped to safety.
No one was injured in the mishap, as the tourists swam to safety at the bank of the canal, before seeking refuge at La Fenice theatre, according to Venice police.
According to a spokesman for the city’s gondola association, the gondola was not damaged, although the upholstered furniture in the vessel was ruined by the water.
The spokesperson went on to confirm that the gondolier had instructed the tourists not to move around or stand up to take selfies during the manoeuvre, but due to a language barrier, the tourists did not comply.
A video of the incident was posted to an Instagram page called Venezia Non è Disneyland (Venice Is Not Disneyland), an account run by young locals to chronicle tourism in the city, with the video being flooded with comments about the misbehaved tourists.
Many Italian locals were quick to point out how rowdy the tourists must've been to cause the incident, with many pointing out they "didn't know it was possible to capsize a gondola".
Image credits: Facebook