The collapse of a construction crane in downtown Seattle on Saturday has left four people dead, four people hurt and six cars pinned under it.
Two of the people who died were crane operators, said Fire Chief Harold Scoggins.
Two others who died were in separate vehicles. Three of the dead were males, one was female.
WATCH: Construction crane collapse in Seattle leaves 4 dead, 3 injured
Firefighters arrived after the victims had died.
The three patients who were hurt in the collapse were taken to hospital.
A mother and her four-month-old child were hurt and taken to hospital, but they’re believed to be in “satisfactory” condition, according to the Seattle Times.
Another was treated on scene and not transported, the fire department said.
The crane collapsed at about 3:30 p.m. PT, at Fairview Avenue North and Mercer Street in the city’s South Lake Union area.
Mike McCuaig, transportation chair with the South Lake Community Council, said the crane was being dismantled when it collapsed.
“The construction crane on the top of the building was being dismantled this afternoon and my understanding was in the process of dismantling, the crane fell to the ground on the south side of the building,” he said.
WATCH: The collapse of a construction crane in downtown Seattle on Saturday has left four people dead and three people injured
A secondary crane was helping with the dismantling, he added.
Winds were also blowing at the time that the crane fell but it’s not clear whether that was a factor in the collapse, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
One of the people injured was a 27-year-old man in serious condition, another was treated at the site of the collapse.
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The collapse happened at a building that was set to house a new Google Seattle campus, as well as over 100 new apartments, the Times added.
Construction was to wrap up later this year, after having started in 2017.
Seattle had 60 construction cranes as of January, more than in any American city.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee tweeted that his “heart goes out to the family and friends of the four people who died in this terrible accident.”
Google also released a statement, saying that the company was “saddened to learn of today’s accident at South Lake Union,” as reported by ABC Seattle journalist Patrick Quinn.
Mercer Street is expected to remain closed from Fairview Avenue N to 9th Avenue N until Sunday, said the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).
Here are some tweets that showed the crane collapse from the scene:
- With files from The Associated Press
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