NEW YORK, May 30: At least two people were killed as a crane fell onto a high rise apartment building in the upper east side of Manhattan early on Friday morning.

In the second such incident in almost two months in the city the collapsing crane tore off balconies and leaving a huge debris of damage blocking several streets. The police said several others were injured but the injured were in stable condition.

In the earlier accident seven people were killed by the collapsing crane on the ground.

“It sounded like a plane crashing in the building” said a resident who lived next to the building, adding “we had complained against the precarious crane structure to the city”.

Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg deplored the incident and said: “It will be thoroughly investigated”.