Woman killed in fall off gangplank of cruise ship

A Spanish woman fell to her death Saturday off the gangplank of a cruise ship moored in Genoa, Italy, news reports said.

Maria Mercedes Bonastre, 62, of Barcelona was boarding the ship with her husband and friends when the top step of the plank gave way, the reports said.

Bonastre was killed immediately when her head struck the dock and she fell into the sea, the ANSA news agency reported.

The Splendida, operated by MSC Crociere, was about to set sail for a Mediterranean holiday cruise, ANSA said.