WATCH: New York City construction crane catches on fire, crashes onto street

(AP): Four people suffered minor injuries, but no one died, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams after a construction crane caught on fire before crashing onto the street.

“As you can see from the debris on the street, this could have been much worse,” the Democrat said at a news conference, noting that the street at that hour of the morning is often filled with pedestrians, cars and buses.

The fire atop the 54-story building was reported around 7:25 a.m. Photos and videos posted on social media showed flames bursting from the engine compartment of a crane hundreds of feet above 10th Avenue at 41st Street. The crane's arm, which was carrying a 16-ton load of concrete, snapped off after the fire had been burning for a period of time.

“That weight of 16 tons is attached by a cable,” said Joseph Pfeifer, first deputy commissioner for the Fire Department of New York. “As the fire heats the cable, the cable weakens to a point where it loses its strength, and that’s where the collapse occurred.”

The person operating the crane tried to put out the fire as it spread, but then had to flee to safety, Pfeifer said. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

A worker at a nearby construction site said everyone stopped and watched as flames engulfed the top of the crane and a column of black smoke rose above buildings.

Within a few minutes, firefighters were shooting water down at the blaze from a balcony of an adjacent building. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

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