A section of collapsed crane protrudes from a crushed building on 50th Street near Second Avenue Saturday, March 15, 2008 in New York.  (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    NEW YORK, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A construction crane snapped Saturday from a 25-story building in Manhattan, killing at least four people and injuring many others, New York City authorities said.

    All four known deaths were of construction workers at the site and some of the injured are in serious or critical condition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a press conference.

    The crane snapped into two parts, damaging three nearby buildings and completely destroyed a fourth, Bloomberg said.

    The building that was destroyed was a five-story brownstone with a popular bar in the first floor which, fortunately, was not open at the time.

    Over 300 firefighters, 150 police officers and many other emergency workers are working at the site. Police dogs and listening devices were deployed to looking for victims trapped in the rubbles.

    Several blocks in the vicinity of crane collapse remain cordoned off to traffic. Several buildings nearby are being vacated and occupants are told to go to a shelter set up in a school.

    Authorities are still probing what had caused the crane collapse.

    The construction site has had 13 violations with the New York City Department of Buildings since 2006, but that was a normal number for a construction site of similar size, authorities said.

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