A collision between a cargo vessel and a control tower in the Italian port of Genoa killed at least four people, rescue officials said on Wednesday.

According to authorities, there are still missing, including some people may be trapped inside submerged elevator control tower.

The accident occurred around 23h (local time; 18h GMT) on Tuesday, during a shift change, making it difficult to count the number of people who may be missing.

The cargo ship "Jolly Nero" left Genoa when it crashed shortly after midnight on Tuesday against the tower that guides the boats in harbor, one of the largest in the country, according to the channel and the newspaper RaiNews24 " Corriere della Sera ".

- He slammed into the tower, but at the moment we do not know why - said an employee of Messina, owner of the ship.

On Wednesday morning, all that was left of the control tower was damaged an outside staircase. The tower itself - which was located at one end of a pier jutting out into the harbor - or should have fallen in the water or near a pile of rubble on site.

According to the doctor Andrea Furgani, teams initially brought four wounded to area hospitals in Genoa. "The conditions were critical. They suffered injuries mainly caused by compression, broken bones and chest injuries'," he told AP.

The vessel involved in the accident was the Jolly Nero company Ignazio Messina & C. According eat Spa news agency ANSA, the official Stefano Messina said that none of this had happened before in the company founded in 1921. "We are devastated."

The Port of Genoa, located on the Ligurian coast in Italy is the country's busiest in terms of overall management of cargo.