Times Square tourist bus crash injures 14 amid 'screaming and blood on the ground'

Three of those hurt were said to be in a 'serious' condition

Two double-decker tour buses sit at the corner of 47th Street and 7th Avenue in Times Square after colliding, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014, in New York (AP)

Two double-decker tourist buses have collided in New York's Times Square, injuring 14 people.

The crash sent glass shattering and mowed down pavement furniture on Tuesday afternoon in one of the busiest theatre districts in the world.

Though none of the injuries suffered were believed to be life-threatening, city officials said eight people had to be treated at the scene and three were described as being hurt "seriously".

One of the buses crashed into and brought down a lamppost, taking out a number of traffic lights, and witnesses said the scene was initially chaotic with screaming passengers.

The accident occurred around 47th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, an area of Times Square usually teeming with tourists near a TKTS discount Broadway tickets booth and the Hershey's Chocolate World store. It shut down a stretch of Seventh Avenue.

Tourist Cara McCaskill, of Winnipeg, Canada, saw the scene of the accident moments after it happened as she walked out of her hotel.

"I saw fire trucks trying to get through all the crazy traffic," the 16-year-old said. "And I saw ambulances and blood on the ground."

Rose Cantillon, visiting New York from Ireland, was also nearby when the crash occurred and said she and others around her quickly responded to try and help.

"I was sitting on a bench, and I turned around and heard screaming, and I ran," she said.