At least three people have died and several are missing after a container ship smashed into a control tower in the port of Genoa.

Part of the tower in which about 14 people were present at the time of the accident crashed into the water.

One of the victims was thought to be a woman in her 30s, while the other two were men.

Rescue workers dived into the water around the port in a frantic search to find around 10 people believed to be missing.

Six others have been reported seriously injured.

An employee of the Messina Line company, based in Genoa which owns the vessel, confirmed that “there was an accident when the ship was leaving the port”.

“It ran into the tower, but we don’t know why at this point, nor how many people are hurt,” he said.

The container ship, the Italian Jolly Nero, is almost 200m (655ft) long, 30m (98ft) wide, and weighs over 40,500 tonnes.

The ship’s owner, Stefano Messina, said: “We are all utterly shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened before, we are desperate.”

New reports said the captain was being questioned by police.

The impact happened during a shift change at the tower which meant that more people were present.