At least three people were killed and five others injured after a crane collapsed at a construction site and fell on an adjacent hotel car park in central China's Hunan Province Monday.

The accident took place at about 5:30 p.m. at the Jinsenianhua (Golden Age) real estate project being built in Lingling District of Yongzhou City, the district's government said Tuesday.

A high-rise crane collapsed and fell on vehicles parked in the yard of Hongtaiyang (Red Sun) Hotel and some people, an unnamed witness said.

The injured were taken to the hospital.

The local government held an emergency conference Monday night, ordering an immediate overhaul of construction safety across the district and suspension of the use of all cranes.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

On Saturday, 17 workers were killed and another was badly injured after a construction lift plunged, apparently because of overloading in Changsha, capital of Hunan.

The lift was carrying 18 workers to the 30th floor of a residential complex being built in the city's downtown area. The lift only has a designed capacity for carrying 12 people.

(Xinhua News Agency Decmber 30, 2008)