Four people die while the crane collapses in Seattle Street

Four people were killed and three others injured during the collapse of a construction crane in the American city of Seattle.

The cars were crushed when the crane fell off a construction site and fell into a road in the South Lake Union District, the Seattle Fire Department announced.

The people killed were two crane drivers and two people in separate cars.

A woman and her baby, as well as a man in her twenties, were injured and taken to hospital, officials said.

The incident occurred around 3:30 pm local time (23:30 GMT) on Saturday.

Witness Esther Nelson told the Seattle Times that the crane seemed to break in two during high winds.

"Half was flying to the side of the building, the other half had fallen into the street, crossing both lanes," she said.

The building under construction was badly damaged. The development is expected to house a new Google Seattle campus and about 150 new apartments, the Seattle Times reported.