Ottawa/UNI: Eighteen people, 17 of them children, were injured after falling off an elevated walkway in central Canada, local media reported.

The accident happened at Fort Gibraltar in Winnipeg's St. Boniface area shortly before 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) when the children aged 10-11 from St. John's-Ravenscourt School were on a field trip.

Some children fell directly from the 5-meter-high walkway when it collapsed and others slipped down, said reports, adding that three of them were taken to hospital in unstable condition, while the remaining were in stable condition.

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson said that inspectors will be attending the scene and that a provincial workplace safety and health investigation will take place.

"An initial search of our records would seem to indicate that repairs were made to the elevated walkway in 2004 and 2013. We have not received any complaints related to the property based on an initial search of our records," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.