Workmen Seriously Injured As Lift Falls Four Floors At Block Of Flats

Workmen Seriously Hurt In Lift Plunge
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File image: The lift fell four floors in a block of flats in London
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Two men have been taken to hospital after a lift plunged four floors at a block of flats.

The pair are believed to have been engineers who were working on the lift in the building on Woburn Place near Russell Square, central London, when it fell from the fourth to ground floors.

One of them was trapped for more than two hours before being rescued by a crew from London Fire Brigade.

Both men had been on top of the lift car when the incident happened at about 4.45pm.

The first, a 58-year-old, was removed after firefighters gained access through a rear wall of the lift, while the second man had to be freed by the crew, who left the scene at 7.50pm after releasing him.

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman described the men's injuries as "serious".

She said: "We were called to Woburn Place to a report of two people falling down a lift shaft at a block of flats. There were two patients, a 58-year-old man who had a head injury, a cut to his chin and back pain. The second man has back, neck and pelvic injuries."

A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said they were aware of the incident and making initial inquiries.