Construction Crane Catches Fire, Collapses In New York City, Injuring Multiple People

A crane perched on a Manhattan skyscraper caught fire and partially collapsed onto a New York City street Wednesday morning.

Christopher Mathias, a national senior reporter with HuffPost, captured footage of the burning crane, which was located 45 stories above the ground on a 10th Avenue building between West 41st and 42nd streets in Hell’s Kitchen — not far from Times Square. During a press conference around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, officials said that the fire had broken out shortly before 8 a.m.

Jimmy Farrington, a Hell’s Kitchen resident, filmed the terrifying moment when part of the fiery crane collapsed and posted it to Twitter. In the footage, black smoke is seen billowing from one section of the crane when the jib suddenly falls, hitting a building across the street and sending debris flying before crashing down.

At the press conference, fire officials said six people were injured during the crash, most with minor injuries. The crane operator was also able to escape the fire — after attempting to put it out themselves with a hand extinguisher — and is safe, according to officials. 

Authorities said that more than 200 fire personnel are currently on the scene, batting what became a five-alarm fire, but noted that drone footage shows that most of the blaze has been extinguished.

“This could have been much worse,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during the press conference.