The US secretary of the interior has announced the Statue of Liberty will reopen to the public on Independence Day - following repairs to extensive damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Ken Salzaar said the visitor attraction is important to New York's economy - with an National Park Service annual report released last month revealing 3.7m people visited Liberty Island in 2011, generating US$174m (134m euro, £115m) in economic activity and supporting 2,218 jobs.

Salzaar said: "Hurricane Sandy inflicted major damage on facilities that support the Statue of Liberty - destroying the docks, crippling the energy infrastructure on Ellis Island and wiping out the security screening system - but we are fully committed to reopening this crown jewel as soon as it's safe for visitors and not a second later."