Small aircraft hits Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, prompting evacuations
Videos posted to social media show the plane striking the upper floors of Citic Tower, scattering debris in central business district
Videos posted to social media showed the aircraft striking the upper floors of the 528-metre (1,732-foot) tower, with chunks of wreckage falling onto the surrounding pavement and green space. Additional footage showed people being evacuated from the building.
A woman surnamed Lin told the South China Morning Post that she had been urgently evacuated from the building at 6pm.
“I ran out without my ID card or bag,” she said.
A bystander who works in a nearby building said he had heard a loud noise at around 5.40pm, but added that he had not seen the crash. Police cordoned off the roads surrounding the site of the incident and dispersed the crowd, maintaining a heavy police presence around the skyscraper.
Several ambulances were also seen parked near the building.
Online photos of the wreckage showed the aircraft’s registration number was B-12PP. According to flight tracker site Flightradar24, the aircraft belongs to Shuangyue General Aviation. The site’s records identify the plane as a Sunward SA60L Aurora – a two-seat, single-engine light sport aircraft made by Starair Aircraft Co.