L.A. cable car collision injures 12

The two cable cars collided in downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Twelve people were injured -- three critically -- in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday when two cable cars collided.

Initial reports said a cable from one of the cars snapped, and one car slid down the sloping track into the second. The accident occurred around 12:15 p.m., Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis said.

The three people critically injured and five people who received minor injuries were taken to three local hospitals, Collis said, and four people were treated at the scene.

Firefighters carried the injured down ladders to safety.

The cable cars are known as the Angels Flight, a two-car funicular -- shortest distance railroad in the world -- that carries tourists and residents up and down the track for 25 cents each way.

Originally known as the Los Angeles Incline Railway, it was built in 1901 to connect the original downtown shopping district to the posh residential area of Bunker Hill above.

Angels Flight
Los Angeles Fire Department

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