Venice, Jun 3 (IANS): A cruise ship crashed into a Venice dock on Sunday, hitting a moored tourist boat and sending onlookers running for safety, authorities said

The cruise ship, MSC Opera, rammed into the San Basilio terminal on Sunday, and hit a smaller tourist boat, the River Countess, that was docked there, the local port authorities told CNN.

Four people suffered "light injuries" in the accident.

The incident took place on Sunday morning on the Giudecca canal, one of the busiest in the Italian city which is hugely popular with tourists.

Video on social media showed the huge cruise ship heading for the dock, shoving the smaller boat out of the way, and causing onlookers on land to flee.

"The noise of siren and of clash is totally frightening, looking like a scene from a disaster movie," a Twitter user, who posted a video of the dramatic collision, said.

The ship operator, MSC Cruises, said in a statement that the vessel "experienced a technical issue" while heading towards the terminal for mooring.