NEW YORK: One person died and two others were seriously injured when a crane collapsed on Friday morning in Lower Manh­attan, smashing the roofs of parked cars, authorities said.

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

“Thank God we didn’t have more injuries and lose more people,” he said. The crane landed across an intersection and stretched much of a block in the Tribeca neighbourhood, about 10 blocks north of the World Trade Centre.

There was damage to the roof of a nearby building, and debris littered the street. “It was right outside my window,” said Robert Harold, who works at the Legal Aid Society.

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

Harold said at least one person was trapped in a car, and he saw onlookers trying to get the person out.

He said he also saw a person lying motionless on the street. De Blasio said the person killed was sitting in a parked car. The mayor said none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

Officials were working to determine why the crane fell.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2016