Huge crane collapses onto street in Manhattan

A massive crane has collapsed onto a street in New York killing one person and seriously injuring two others.

The collapse happened early on Friday morning when the construction crane crashed to the ground along Broadway in the Tribeca neighbourhood of Lower Manhattan.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the crane was being lowered as a precaution because of high winds when the accident occurred.

De Blasio said the person killed was sitting in a parked car. The mayor said none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

The collapsed crane, which filled the length of the street, smashed onto parked cars crushing their roofs.

A witness who works nearby said he saw onlookers trying to help a person trapped in a car.

Robert Harold said he also saw a person lying motionless in the street.

Mr Harold, who works at the Legal Aid Society, said: "It was right outside my window.

"It was a crashing sound. You could feel the vibration in the building."

Another witness told ABC7: "I didn't know what was happening because it was happening so fast.

"I could hear the bending of metal. I think it hit the side of the building."

The Fire Department of New York is at the scene responding to the accident, and confirmed that one person had died.

An unnamed city official told the New York Times that as many 15 people may have been injured in the accident.

Nearby buildings were evacuated and officers told people arriving for work that they should go home.