KING

A construction crane collapse in downtown Bellevue Thursday evening.

BELLEVUE, Wash. - One person was killed when a construction crane collapsed Thursday night at about 7:45 p.m. in downtown Bellevue on 180th Avenue NE near NE 4th Street.

The west side of Pinnacle Bell Centre Apartments was torn away when the crane came down.

The dead person was found in the top floor of the apartment building, Bellevue Fire Department Lt. Bruce Kroon said.

The top floor of the Pinnacle Bell Centre Apartments was crushed and the building immediately next to the crane was damaged extensively, Kroon said.

The crane also hit at least two other buildings – the Civica Office Commons and Plaza 305.

Rescue teams made an extensive search of the area. Their biggest concern was Plaza 305 where two stories completely collapsed and the first floor and basement are seriously damaged.

The crane fell several feet from The Melting Pot restaurant, which was full of diners at the time. Everyone was evacuated and no one inside or outside the restaurant was hurt.

It wasn't immediately known whether additional people were hurt. Officers were going to door to door to check on people, but hadn't been able to get into one building because of damage, Kroon said.

The crane's operator was also hurt but reportedly was going to be OK, police spokesman Greg Grannis said.

Firefighters used a ladder to retrieve the operator from about 20 to 30 feet above the ground, but he was able to pull himself out of the cage, Kroon said. He was taken to nearby Overlake Hospital.

The crane operator told the fire department he was getting ready to shut down for the night, when he heard a crack and the crane went down, striking four buildings, Kroon said.

The crane was working on 333 Bellevue Tower, which is an office building that has been vacant for a few years, Kroon said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

The crane is blocking 108th Avenue NE. between NE 2th Street and NE 4th Street.

KING5.com's Karin Czulik and the Associated Press contributed to this report.