Tourists injured in Tower Bridge lift accident (2nd Roundup)

May 11, 2009, 18:28 GMT

London - Six people, including a number of tourists, were seriously injured Monday after a lift in London's famous Tower Bridge 'suddenly dropped' by about three metres, the authorities said.

Philip Everett, from the City of London Corporation, confirmed that tourists were among those injured, saying that visitors from Spain were among the four men and two women taken to hospital.

'We are desperately sorry in causing this inconvenience. We clearly very much regret it and we wish them well,' he said.

The victims suffered broken legs and ankles, a spokeswoman for the Corporation said earlier.

Everett said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the accident, which was being investigated.

'We are looking into all aspects of what might have gone wrong with the lift. Any incident involving a lift is very concerning. We are absolutely very concerned about it,' he said.

An exhibition to which the lift was travelling at the time of the accident would remain closed until the serviceability of a second lift on the site had been checked.

While the injured were taken to nearby hospitals, another 10 people in the lift left the scene without any injuries. The lift can carry up to 40 people. It is used by about 1,000 people a day.

Sky News reported that the lift had 'plummeted,' possibly after a cable snapped.