Thirteen people died and 31 were injured on Saturday when a dockside gangway to the world's biggest and most expensive cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, collapsed at Saint-Nazaire in western France. There for a weekend visit to the luxury liner, over 40 friends and family members of shipyard workers were crossing the gangway to the boat when it gave way, eyewitnesses said. The group plunged some 82 feet to the ground. Thirteen people died and nine of the injured were in serious condition, including five with grave head wounds, according to hospital officials. Bernard Boucault, top administrator for the Loire-Atlantique region, categorically denied there were any children among the victims, as some media reports suggested. "Never have we seen such a tragedy," Saint-Nazaire mayor Joel Batteux told reporters, choking back tears. "How could these people die at the foot of our town's proudest symbol?" About 50 rescue vehicles and one helicopter descended on the scene. An emergency hospital was set up at the base of the massive ship and psychologists attended to family members of the victims. Outside the hospital in central Saint-Nazaire, a modest port town where one in 10 people work for the shipyard, dozens of anguished faces hovered waiting for news on their relatives. "My daughter is in a state of shock," said Muriel Leduc, the wife of a shipyard worker, as she left the emergency room. "She was standing on the dock, awaiting her turn when the platform collapsed. She heard the cries of the injured." The Queen Mary 2 is undergoing final stages of construction at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, owned by French heavy engineering firm Alstom, and completed its final sea trials off the Brittany coast last week. French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will both visit the site of the accident today. Alstom officials said the visitors were part of a larger group that is permitted on the liner every Saturday. "For each shipyard worker, the construction of a cruise liner is a source of pride to be shared with friends and family," said Philippe Bouquet-Nadeau, the head of human resources for Alstom Marine. "That is why we always authorize these visits. It is a very old tradition." The gangway which collapsed was put in place by specialist French firm Endel, a unit of French utilities giant Suez. Alstom officials said it was designed to hold far more people than were on it when it gave way. The original ocean liner Queen Mary entered service on Cunard's prestigious Atlantic route in 1936, becoming one of the best known ships of the golden age of liners. Britain's Queen Elizabeth is due to officially launch the new ship on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on January 12. The ship has an onboard planetarium and art gallery and will carry about 3,000 passengers on its first 15-day cruise. A ticket for a top cabin on the ship's first cruise will cost around 40,000 dollar. The accident is the latest blow for struggling Alstom, which nearly collapsed earlier this year due to a cash shortage before the French government saved it with a controversial bailout. The company has said it is "reviewing its options" for the marine unit, which has seen orders drop sharply amid a slump in tourism triggered by the September 11 attacks, an economic downturn and the war in Iraq. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Rescue workers gather at the Queen Mary 2 after a crowded, newly installed gangway leading from the dock to the Queen Mary 2, the world's largest passenger ship, collapsed Saturday Nov. 15, 2003.