One person is dead and several people have been injured after a high-rise construction crane towering over the Elan City Lights apartment complex in downtown Dallas ripped through the building, leaving apartments and vehicles badly damaged.

Footage filmed by an eyewitness on Sunday afternoon shows twisted cars lying on top of each other after the upper levels of the garage caved in from the impact.

"It's absolute chaos. I can't believe what I'm f**cking seeing right now," the man can be heard saying in the video.

The crane's collapse apparently ruptured some pipes in the apartment block's water supply system, as torrents of water can be seen running down from the roof.

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said that six people were injured in the collapse, adding that it was likely the first time in city history a crane fell on an inhabited residential building, as cited by CNN.

The incident is blamed on the strong winds that swept through northern Texas, bringing hail and heavy rain to parts of the state. In its forecast, weather service said that the wind speeds can reach up to 70 miles per hour, warning of possible tornadoes.

Several videos show debris flying over the city, carried by the winds.

Damage was also reported at the Dallas Love Field airport where a part of the roof and a hangar door were reportedly knocked down in a severe thunderstorm.

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