Crane collapses onto Dubbo apartment block during wild winds in NSW Central West

A crane has come crashing down onto an apartment block in Dubbo as wild winds ravaged the state’s west.

The massive piece of machinery had been towering over the building before it collapsed, sending debris flying across the area.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Wild winds cause terrifying crane collapse

Witnesses at the scene expressed shock at the dramatic collapse, with one person heard saying “Oh my God, I hope there’s no one under there.”

The apartment block was immediately evacuated as emergency services rushed to the scene.

Remarkably, no one was injured in the incident despite the scale of the collapse and the debris scattered by the falling crane.

The wild winds that caused the crane to topple have been battering the region throughout Thursday afternoon, creating dangerous conditions across western NSW.

It comes as a dust storm rolled through western NSW, painting the regional area in a layer of red and leaving the sky a dark orange.

“Cobar is among the towns impacted where thick dust has been observed moving through the region. Similar conditions may extend to surrounding areas as winds continue to pick up,” NSW Incident Alerts said.

Dubbo recorded a wind gust of 115km/h on Thursday afternoon while Cobar was also hit by 96km/h winds.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned that a severe thunderstorm was also sweeping east across Sutherland, Richmond and Liverpool. It was forecast to affect Hornsby, Parramatta, Sydney, Mona Vale, Gosford and Woy Woy.

The storm was forecast to produce damaging winds.