The 600ft crane fell onto a tent where workers took their breaks at the LysondellBasell refinery in Houston, Texas.
The incident follows two recent deadly crane collapses in New York which killed a total of nine people.
Refinery spokesman David Roznowski said those killed were employees of Louisiana company Deep South Crane & Rigging, which owns the crane.
Mr Roznowski said that injuries to another seven people were not life-threatening.
The crane was not lifting anything when it collapsed and production at the 270,000-barrel per day refinery has not been affected, he added.
Deep South said it had few details about the accident but said in a statement: "Our thoughts and prayers are with our employees and their loved ones."
The crane had been doing overhaul work on the Houston Ship Channel site.
Lyondell was undertaking the overhaul in July - when most US refineries run at high capacity to fit in with the summer driving season's peak demand for petrol - because of the availability of the rare crane.
"There are only a few cranes of this size in the world," Mr Roznowski said. "You do the work when the crane's available."
The crane fell on an area where workers cooled off and drank water out of the July heat, Mr Roznowski said.
The crane collapse in Houston was the deadliest US crude oil refinery accident since a 2005 explosion at BP's refinery in Texas City killed 15 workers and injured 180 other people.
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