Rescue workers inspect the scene of a damaged control tower in the port of Genoa on May 8, 2013.
CNN  — 

At least seven people were killed and four others were hospitalized after a cargo ship smashed into a maritime traffic control tower in the Italian city of Genoa, the Italian Fire Brigade said Wednesday.

Genoa Port Authority personnel were inside the 51-meter-high structure when the crash took place, the Italian Fire Brigade said.

Two people were missing as emergency responders undertook rescue operations in the rubble of the collapsed tower, the brigade said.