LONDON: A woman was killed and four others were injured on Wednesday after a 20-metre crane collapsed onto a block of flats in the Bow area of east London. Emergency services at the scene who were working to rescue trapped residents said that "sadly a woman has died at the scene of the crane collapse".
The four others who were injured include two people taken to hospital for head injuries. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) earlier said it had launched a "complex" operation on site with a police blockade in place.
LFB said that the woman who died was found on the first floor of one of the houses that was damaged after the crane came down in Bow. "A 20-metre crane has collapsed on to a block of flats under development and into two terraced houses on Compton Close," said LFB assistant commissioner Graham Ellis.
"Our urban search and rescue crews are undertaking a complex rescue operation and using specialist equipment to search the properties. This is a multi-agency response and is likely to be a protracted incident," he said.
Images on social media show firefighters with ladders propped up against a house with its roof caved in, while aerial images show the twisted crane embedded in the building. A number of crews and "specialist resources" rushed to the scene, the London Ambulance Service said on Twitter.
The crane that collapsed was being used by Swan Housing Association and NU living at the time. A spokesperson for Swan Housing Association and NU living said they were "aware of an incident that occurred at our Watts Grove development site in Tower Hamlets, east London".
"A full incident response has been implemented and our staff are on site supporting the emergency services in their response," the spokesperson said.