Three people are in serious but stable condition at local hospitals, and four others were injured, when a crane collapsed at a construction site in Long Island City in Queens.

The red crane collapsed shortly before 2:30 onto a building that's going up in Long Island City at 46th Avenue and Center Boulevard, behind the iconic Pepsi Cola sign along the East River waterfront.

"We heard a cable snap, and when I turned around it started recoiling back towards the crane and people on the deck started running and moving," said construction worker Preston White. "That's when you heard the crane coming down."

White said it was his first day on the construction site, and that he feels lucky to be alive.

"I was five to 10 feet away, and actually seeing it come down was shocking," he said. "After it went down, you heard people screaming, calling out to people. I just got down and ran down and called fam and said, 'I'm alright'."

A fire official at the scene says emergency crews extricated three construction workers who were trapped underneath the crane, but he tells WNYC their injuries appeared to be no worse than broken bones.

The crane is owned and operated by New York Crane. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the collapse.