LAS VEGAS -- Overcrowding may have caused a hotel elevator to plunge from 26 floors above, injuring three people, officials said.

A safety mechanism on the elevator kicked in and halted the falling elevator before it hit bottom just after 1 p.m. Sunday at Fitzgerald's hotel and casino, which is located in downtown Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Fire Department. Two adults and a child were taken to the hospital after complaining about minor injuries, officials said.

A hotel spokeswoman said nine people, one cart full of luggage and a bell man were in the elevator when it fell rapidly, but emergency brakes kept it from hitting the bottom of the elevator shaft. Teresa Malm, vice president of marketing at the hotel, described the elevator scare as "a hard landing." But all of the persons involved exited the elevator of their own volition, Malm said.

Fire officials said the elevator may have been overloaded when the accident happened around 2 p.m. The injuries suffered included from a hurt back, elbow and knee. Video showed the elevator packed when it began heading down from the 26th floor, Malm said. The elevator stopped three times for people trying to get on, but since it was full, it continued downward. It was unclear from what floor the elevator made its final rapid descent.

Malm said video footage showed passengers' knees bending when they hit bottom. She said cables carrying the elevator car did not snap.

The cause of the failure remains under investigation. For more information on this mishap, tune into FOX5 News at 10 p.m.