ROME: Italian firefighters say three people aboard a speedboat have been killed when their vessel crashed into an offshore dike of the lagoon city of Venice.

The crash on Tuesday night also badly injured a fourth person aboard.

Italian speedboat race officials say the boat was trying to set a speed record for the route from Monte Carlo, a Mediterranean port in Monaco, to Venice. They said the motorboat had begun the undertaking Monday morning and was allowed one fuel step as part of rules for record setting.

Dead in the crash were an Italian and two Britons. The injured man is Italian.

Italian state radio said the speedboat was capable of speeds up to 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph).

The cause of the crash was under investigation.