A man has been winched by a crane and rushed to hospital after falling off a ladder while painting a building in Limerick City.

A large crowd converged at the scene at The Crescent in the city centre shortly after 4pm, as the man was placed onto a spinal board and lifted by a crane, operated by Limerick City Fire and Rescue service, into a waiting ambulance.

Gardai closed off the road onto O'Connell Avenue where the incident occurred but have since reopened it.

The man was rushed to University Hospital Limerick where his condition is unknown.