A septuagenarian was injured yesterday in a two-storey freefall when the lift at her house developed a fault.

The woman, 75-year-old Tereża Frasier, was in L-Iskal Street, Marsascala, at about 11.15am when the lift she was in suddenly gave way.

Sources close to the investigations said it seemed the cable carrying counterweights used to pull the lift from one storey to another snapped, sending it plummeting below.

According to relatives who spoke to the police, the lift had only recently been serviced.

The police were informed about the case through an anonymous phone call.

The lift had been installed a number of years back and was not equipped with a safety mechanism that would cushion the impact should such a malfunction occur, the sources added.

Court-appointed experts were yesterday analysing the lift’s cables and mechanism to establish what went wrong.

Civil Protection Department personnel were called to assist in the woman’s rescue.

She was rushed to Mater Dei Hospital. Sources said she suffered leg fractures and spinal injuries but was not critical.

Duty Magistrate Francesco Depasquale appointed several experts to assist in his inquiry.