Beijing: A small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday, puncturing glass panels of the building and sending debris into the street below.
Authorities are yet to comment on the crash, which occurred at the 108-storey CITIC Tower in Beijing’s central business district, around 6pm local time (8pm AEST).
It is not yet known whether there were any casualties, how many people were injured, or how many people were on board the aircraft.
Known as the CITIC Tower or China Zun, the skyscraper is the headquarters of Citic Group, one of China’s biggest state-owned financial conglomerates.
Video footage posted to social media showed damage to the upper floors of the 528-metre building, where the plane struck and smashed through glass panels, and debris spiralling into the street below. Images show wreckage of the aircraft’s tail lying in the street.
The photos show the plane’s registration code as being B-12PP. According to Flightradar24 records, the plane was a two-seat Sunward SA 60L Aurora light aircraft operated by a local general aviation company.
Reuters reported there was a heavy police presence at the site, and authorities were preventing people from taking pictures and asked others to delete their footage. Videos and images have since been scrubbed from Chinese social media by government censors.
A courier told the news agency he heard a loud crash at around 6pm and rushed towards the building. He said he filmed a video of the aircraft sticking out of the building but later deleted it fearing he would be reprimanded by authorities.
“It was so loud – louder than fireworks,” he told Reuters.
Last month, Beijing authorities tightened controls over the city’s airspace, banning the buying, selling or flying of drones without the government’s approval.
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Lisa Visentin is the North Asia correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Beijing. She was previously a federal political correspondent based in Canberra.Connect via X or email.
