A huge crane has collapsed during load testing at a government-run shipyard in southern India, killing at least 11 workers, a district administrator says.

Television footage showed the new crane hitting the ground with full force and breaking into pieces at the Hindustan Shipyard in Vishakhapatnam, a port city in Andhra Pradesh state.

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Vinay Chand, a district government administrator, said most of the victims were contract labourers.

Five workers were hospitalised with injuries, he said, adding that the crane collapsed on workers who were working on it or standing nearby.

The cause of the accident is being investigated, Chand said.