A tower crane working at the UTS site on Broadway this morning has caught fire and then partially collapsed, with the boom falling across a building.
Inspector Mark Reilly from Fire & Rescue NSW reports the fire is some 65 metres above ground and involved a 1000L diesel tank used to power the crane. The incident has caused large exclusion zones for vehicles and pedestrians, causing extensive travel delays around the city.
Social media networks were rapidly updated as passersby posted updates and photos firstly of the fire and then showing the collapse. Five of these are included below.
UPDATE: #Broadway remains closed @livetrafficsyd at scene of crane #fire in #Sydney. Crane operator is out. twitter.com/FireRescueNSW/…
— Fire & Rescue NSW (@FireRescueNSW) November 26, 2012
Crane fire & collapse #UTS #Sydney crazy stuff happens when you step out for coffee @ Ultimo TAFE Building Z instagr.am/p/SgssLZl_Fk/
— Ed Lancaster (@talk2ed) November 26, 2012
Crane on fire in Sydney, building site evacuated twitter.com/JamesAGSaunder…
— James Saunders (@JamesAGSaunders) November 26, 2012
UTS Sydney crane on fire twitter.com/MLawrenceG/sta…
— Michael L Grocholsky (@MLawrenceG) November 26, 2012
Flames getting noticeably larger – dozens of ppl taking pics @702sydney twitter.com/adambspencer/s…
— Adam Spencer (@adambspencer) November 26, 2012