ORLANDO (REUTERS) - A tourist from Britain lost two fingertips in an accident on a boat ride at Florida's Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, a local emergency official said on Friday.

The 57-year-old man's fingertips were severed on Thursday morning on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in the resort's Magic Kingdom theme park. The injury occurred as he was holding onto a boat with his fingertips outside the vessel, said Reedy Creek Fire Department Assistant Chief Bo Jones.

The man, whose name was not released, was hospitalised in stable condition. The severed fingertips - on the ring and pinky fingers of his right hand - were not recovered, Jones said.

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was shut down for a couple of hours, then reopened to visitors after being deemed safe, said Disney resort spokesman Jacquee Whaler. The ride has safety warnings cautioning guests to keep their limbs inside the boats.