A 61-year-old man suffered serious head and internal injuries after falling 20 feet off a wall at the Newstead Belmont Hills hotel yesterday.

Maintenance worker Albert Smith, of Warwick, was sitting on the ledge eating his lunch when he apparently lost his balance at about 1.40 p.m., landing in the air conditioning well below.

Co-workers performed first aid before firefighters arrived and winched Mr. Smith to safety; he was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital by ambulance. Mr. Smith was said to be coherent throughout the rescue operation and his injuries were not said to be life threatening.

Newstead general manager Clarence Hofheins told The Royal Gazette: "He was sitting on the ledge, eating his lunch.

"Another person was walking by and all he saw was his feet as he fell down into the air conditioning well. I have no idea what happened. There was no one else around.

"One of the other guys was first aid trained, so they got him down with a ladder and mobilised him."

About five firefighters then put Mr. Smith on a makeshift cot which they lifted with ropes in an operation lasting about five minutes. Mr. Smith has worked at the Harbour Road venue for around a year and was described by Mr. Hofheins as a "wonderful person".

"He was great in the lunch room earlier, joking around with the other guys," he continued.

"All of our staff are pretty shaken up. We are like family here. Thank goodness he was coherent — he's OK that way. But until we find out exactly what happened, everyone's a little dazed."

Mr. Hofheins said he had spoken to Government health and safety officials after the incident.

A Police spokesman said: "It appears that an employee of the hotel was sitting on a wall on the property when he fell into a ditch.

"The victim, a 61-year-old Warwick man, was extricated by Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service personnel who also attended the scene and taken to KEMH via ambulance for treatment of head injuries as well as suspected internal injuries.

"However, his injuries are not believed to be life threatening at this time. Inquiries into this incident are underway."