Man Has Face 'Ripped Off' By A Sofa

A witness said: "There were people cleaning the windows. A security guard at the hotel said they had put the sofa into the cradle, which was big enough for three men and it fell out."

Man's face 'ripped off' by sofa falling from luxury London hotel penthouse: A man reportedly had his 'face ripped off' in a horrifying incident that saw a sofa fall from a luxury London hotel penthouse. The man was walking past the W Hotel in Leicester Square when the sofa fell from scaffolding on one of the £9,533-a-month penthouses on the ninth floor. It is now believed the sofa had been put on a window cleaning cradle before it fell.

According to the Mirror, a witness said: "There were people cleaning the windows. A security guard at the hotel said they had put the sofa into the cradle, which was big enough for three men and it fell out." The witness added: "[The man] looked like his face had been ripped off." The victim was taken to hospital with a serious head injury, and is believed to be in a critical but stable condition.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Police were called at 8.54am on Friday 30 October to reports of a pedestrian injured in Wardour Street W1. "At this early stage it is believed he was injured by a piece of furniture which fell from scaffolding. "The man aged in his 20s taken to an east London hospital by London's Air Ambulance. His condition is critical but stable."

A spokeswoman for Starwood Hotels, the parent group of W Hotels, said: "We are aware of an incident at the Swiss Centre which also houses W London Leicester Square. "The exact circumstances of this accident are still being investigated. "Our thoughts and prayers go to the gentleman concerned, who is being treated in hospital for his injuries." The spokesman said: "The man, aged in his twenties, was taken to an east London hospital by London's Air Ambulance "His condition is critical but stable. "The Health and Safety Executive has been informed."

The newspaper quoted one witness as saying: "[The man] looked like his face had been ripped off. "It was raining and where the drops were hitting his face it was making him scream in agony."