THE HEALTH and Safety Authority is conducting an investigation into how a lift with five people inside dropped a number of floors at a modern town centre hotel in Killarney on Saturday afternoon.
A spokeswoman for the hotel said the lift had been inspected and serviced in recent weeks and the hotel would co-operate with any investigation.
The five guests, believed to be from Meath and Dublin, were attending a wedding reception in a different hotel in Killarney, Co Kerry, and were in the lift in the Killarney Plaza, a landmark white building with a green copper roof, when it crashed to the ground.
It is believed the lift fell from the second floor to the basement car park. Five ambulances, the Fire Services and a number of Garda vehicles attended the scene in Main Street.
The injured, none of whom are believed to be in serious condition, were transferred to the accident and emergency unit of Kerry General Hospital in Tralee.
They were freed from the lift after fire personnel managed to prise it open. A number are suspected to be suffering broken bones and shattered ankles, according to services at the scene.
A spokeswoman for the Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa confirmed an incident had taken place, saying it appeared the car park lift had dropped.
The hotel’s first concern was for the injured, she said. It is understood none of them have sustained life-threatening injuries.
Three people remained in hospital last night after two were discharged.
The hotel, formerly known as the Three Lakes, changed hands more than a decade ago and was completely revamped and extended. It now includes a popular spa and conference centre.
It is one of a number of hotels owned by the O’Donoghue-Ring group, which is now a major operator on the hotel scene in Kerry.