Small aircraft crashes into Beijing's tallest building, CITIC Tower

A small aircraft, described as being about the size of a car, crashed into Beijing's tallest building, the CITIC Tower, on Friday afternoon, according to two bystanders. The incident resulted in visible damage to the skyscraper, located in the city's central business district.

Following the crash, a significant police presence descended on the scene. Roads surrounding the 108-storey CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, were closed off. Authorities actively prevented onlookers from capturing images or videos of the event, asking some to delete footage they had already taken while ushering people away from the building.

“

It was so loud - louder than fireworks.

Two glass panels on a high floor of the building were reported to be damaged. However, there has been no immediate official comment regarding the crash, its cause, or any potential injuries. Beijing's municipal government did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of business hours.

A courier who was near the building at the time described hearing a "loud crash - louder than fireworks." He reported seeing a video of the aircraft protruding from the building but deleted it out of fear of police repercussions. Another courier mentioned coming to the scene after seeing unverified social media images of aircraft wreckage on a nearby road. Social media posts related to the incident were quickly removed from Chinese platforms.

“

We all know why.