Small plane hits tallest building in Beijing

The episode occurred in the Guomao region, Beijing’s main financial center, in the Chaoyang district and next to other emblematic properties in the Chinese capital, including the headquarters of state broadcaster CCTV.

Images taken at the scene and circulating on social media show a hole in the glass facade of the skyscraper and fragments of an aircraft lying on a road near the building, in addition to damage to the rear window of a taxi that was traveling or parked in the area.

A Spanish resident in Beijing, who preferred not to identify himself, explained to EFE that he was faced with the emergency operation: “Dozens of police cars. Many ambulances and both directions of the street blocked”, reported the witness.

So far, Chinese authorities have not reported any victims or offered an official version of the circumstances of the incident, which occurred in one of Beijing’s busiest business areas.

It is also not known whether the aircraft was carrying out a private, commercial or other type of flight, nor whether the impact against the building was the result of a mechanical failure, loss of control or other causes.

Images of what happened were circulating this Friday on the social network

China Zun, also known as CITIC Tower, dominates the skyline of Beijing’s financial district and is one of the capital’s most famous buildings.

The tower, 528 meters high, was inaugurated in 2018 and became, at the time, the tallest skyscraper in the city.

Three years after its inauguration, in 2021, China banned the construction of new skyscrapers over 500 meters tall and “strictly” limited those over 250 meters, amid concerns about the structural safety of these buildings and the difficulties of some developers in attracting tenants.