A child who was allegedly thrown from a viewing platform at the Tate Modern sustained a bleed on the brain and fractures to his spine, legs and arms, a court has heard.

The six-year-old boy, who is a French national, was airlifted to hospital after he was found on a fifth-floor roof at the gallery on Sunday afternoon.

He is in a stable but critical condition after plummeting five storeys after allegedly being thrown from the 10th floor viewing platform.

Image: The six-year-old is no longer in a life-threatening condition

On Tuesday, a 17-year-old boy appeared at Bromley Youth Court charged with attempted murder.

The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wore a grey jumper and spoke to confirm his name, address, date of birth and nationality as British at the short court hearing.


The court heard the child sustained a bleed on the brain and fractures to his spine, legs and arms in the incident.

Officers were called to the gallery at around 2.40pm and the child was treated at the scene before being flown to hospital by London's Air Ambulance.

Image: The Tate Modern was visited 5.9 million times in 2018

Scotland Yard said there is no link between the suspect and the victim.

Detective Chief Superintendent John Massey described it as a "truly shocking incident" that was treated as an isolated event "with no distinct or apparent motive."

The teenager was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

Tate Modern is Britain's leading gallery of modern art and sits on the south bank of the River Thames. It was visited by almost six million people last year.