A small aircraft reportedly struck Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday, sending debris down the side of the building and sparking a large emergency response in the Chinese capital.
Images and videos circulating online showed visible damage to the CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, with pieces of debris falling near the tower and onto the streets below. The incident was reported on June 26, and local witnesses said it happened in the evening near Beijing’s Central Business District.
As of Friday night, Chinese authorities had not issued a detailed public statement on the cause of the incident, and it was not immediately clear whether anyone was killed. Some reports said at least one woman was taken to hospital after suffering an injury, but those details have not been officially confirmed.
The building involved was CITIC Tower, better known as China Zun, which is Beijing’s tallest skyscraper and the headquarters of CITIC Group, one of China’s major state-owned financial firms. The 109-story tower rises 528 meters and was completed in 2018.
Video recorded in the aftermath appeared to show damage to a section of the tower’s exterior, while another clip seemed to show part of the aircraft, including its tail section, sliding down the building before dropping into the area below.
A witness surnamed Zhang, who works at a nearby gym, said he saw the plane strike the building.
Police reportedly shut down roads near the tower, with patrol vehicles, fire engines and ambulances gathering outside the skyscraper and metal barriers blocking access to the area. Some people inside the building were seen evacuating.
Photos shared online showed the aircraft’s tail with its registration number still visible after the crash. That registration was linked in reports to a Chinese-made light aircraft, a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which is a light sport aircraft used in general aviation and training.
Unverified reports said the plane may have deviated from its flight path before the collision and that only the pilot was on board. Those claims have not been independently confirmed.
The cause of the incident remains unclear. Beijing’s airspace is tightly controlled, and the city has strict rules on unauthorized drone and aircraft activity, making any unusual aviation incident in the capital especially sensitive.
More information is expected once local authorities release an official account of what happened.