Joe Nicholson Emergency crews work at the scene of the construction crane collapse in Seattle Joe Nicholson

FOUR PEOPLE HAVE died and four others have been injured after a crane collapsed in the US city of Seattle. 

The crane “fell from the roof of a building” and hit six vehicles below, near the southern shore of Lake Union in the centre of the city yesterday afternoon, the fire department said. 

Three men and one woman were killed – two of whom were operators in the crane. 

Of the four people injured, a 27-year-old man, a 25-year-old woman and a four-month-old baby girl were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Joe Nicholson The crane collapsed near the intersection of Mercer Street and Fairview Avenue Joe Nicholson

“It’s a horrible day in Seattle when something like this happens. But it’s a time when we come together because Seattle is a city that rallies around each other,” Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said.

The Seattle Times reported the crane was used as part of construction work to build a new Google campus in the city, a fast-growing tech hub famously home to e-commerce giant Amazon.

Officials do not yet know the cause of the collapse.

Genna Martin Two of the casualties were crane operators Genna Martin

The business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302, which represents heavy-equipment operators, told The Seattle Times he understood the crane was being dismantled when heavy winds moved through the area.

“We don’t know, but that’s what seems to have happened here,” he said. “We are in the process of trying to get information.”

Witness Esher Nelson, who was working in a building nearby, told the newspaper: “It was terrifying. The wind was blowing really strong.”

A Google spokesperson said in a statement that the company was saddened to learn of the accident and that they were in communication with Vulcan, the firm that is managing the site and working with authorities.

With reporting by Associated Press and - © AFP 2019

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