A man is dead and his son is in a critical condition after the crane they were in collapsed in Newstead, north of the Brisbane CBD, last night.

The pair were taking photographs from the bucket crane when it fell onto Longland Street about 7.15pm.

One man died in a crane collapse at Newstead. (Twitter/ @pennycopter)

Witnesses rushed to help and paramedics and firefighters were called to the scene, where they worked to remove the men from the crane.

“It was a tragic incident, very, very lucky, however, that there weren’t other pedestrians in its way,” witness James Small said.

The older man died and his son was taken to the Royal Brisbane Hospital in a critical condition, the Queensland Ambulance Service said.

One man is dead and another is in a critical incident after the accident in Brisbane. (9NEWS)

The younger man remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Longland Street is closed today, with the crane and debris still strewn across the street.