Video captures shocking moment burning NYC crane collapses onto street

Dramatic footage captures the moment a Manhattan construction crane buckled under intense flames as a plume of black smoke could be seen billowing out of the machine near Hudson Yards.

The crane, stationed 45 stories high at 550 10th Ave., falls forward, striking a building across the street and shattering parts of itself and sending debris flying below.

The machine is then sent swinging back to the building it was stationed on, slamming into its own tower as even more debris flies off.

The force of the impact appears to be all the machine can withstand as the last cords binding it to the base snap off, and the crane plummets to the ground.

The footage also shows pedestrians quickly fleeing, and turning back when the crane hits the streets.

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Six people, including two firefighters, were injured when the burning crane crashed down. Despite the harrowing scene, those caught by the falling debris only suffered minor, non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.  

At least three were hospitalized, and one of the firefighters injured was experiencing chest pains, FDNY First Deputy Fire Commissioner Joseph Pfeifer said.

“You see the debris on the street, this could have been much worse. We were fortunate that this was not a busy time of day,” Mayor Eric Adams told reporters at the scene.

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Officials confirmed that the crane operator was in the machine when it went up in flames, but was unable to put the fire out and escaped without injury.

The FDNY managed to extinguish the flames, which grew to a five-alarm fire, by around 9:30 a.m.

The cause of the fire is still not clear, authorities said.