Two-year-old girl among the injured near Ponte Sisto in Rome.

Eight people were hospitalised, including two small children, after a large branch broke off a tree along Rome's Lungotevere and fell 12 metres onto the Tiber banks below.

The incident occurred at around 22.30 on 3 July as people were seated at one of the bars belonging to the summer Lungo il Tevere initiative, near Ponte Sisto.

The injured included a two-year-old girl, who was hit on the arm; her 30-year-old mother, who was hit on the head; and her 34-year-old father who suffered a leg injury. Four others, including a pregnant woman, suffered mild injuries.

The two-year-old's baby brother - aged three months - escaped injury but was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Photo Corriere della Città