Six people have been injured after a the long arm of a construction crane collapsed after it caught fire high above the streets of Manhattan in New York City on Wednesday morning.
Footage of the incident spread on social media, showing smoke billowing from the top of the crane before the collapse of the arm, which smashed into a nearby building before dangling down and then plummeting to the ground.
The collapse occurred just before 8am local time in Hell's Kitchen, and of the six people injured two of them were firefighters.
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The cabin of the crane had been reported at about 7:25am, with New York City mayor Eric Adams saying that nobody had been killed by the collapse of the crane.
“As you can see from the debris on the street, this could have been much worse," he said, also noting that at that time in the morning the street is usually packed full of pedestrians, cars and buses.
None of the injuries sustained are thought to be life-threatening.
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Photos and videos of the incident posted on social media showed flames bursting from the cab of the crane and captured the moment the arm went tumbling to the ground.
New Yorkers were also seen running to get away from the scene of the catastrophe and get clear of the area where part of the crane could fall.
The crane's arm had been carrying a 16-ton load of concrete and footage from people on the ground showed it had snapped off after the fire had been burning for a period of time.
According to New York Fire Department first deputy commissioner Joseph Pfeifer, the crane operator had attempted to put out the blaze but was forced to flee to safety as the flames spread.
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He said it had been a 'good morning' because the collapsing crane 'could have been a lot worse'.
Firefighters stationed on the roof deck of another building were seen using hoses and firing water across the chasms between New York's skyscrapers in an effort to battle the flames as emergency services closed off traffic to the surrounding streets.
By 8:30am firefighters were able to get most of the blaze under control, with over 200 personnel on the scene to respond to the incident.
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The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, with the crane having been working on a building under construction along 10th Avenue and 41st Street when the fire started.
It's near the Port Authority Bus Terminal and an entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, which carries traffic to and from New Jersey under the Hudson River.
Mayor Adams said that despite the disaster it had been 'extremely lucky' that more people weren't injured.
Joe Harker