A small aircraft flew into the tallest building in Beijing on Friday, sending huge hunks of debris and plane parts plummeting onto the streets below and prompting crowds to flee.
Video shared on social media and verified by The New York Times showed debris falling from the skyscraper, as people ran to safety. Videos and photos posted on social media and verified by The New York Times showed broken windows and debris, including what appeared to be the tail of a small aircraft, falling dozens of stories into the street below. The building is in the capital’s central business district, which was clogged with cars.
There was significant police presence near the building on Friday night. The police closed at least one major road near the building, setting up a folding metal grille gate, and a police car with flashing lights was parked on the street. The skyscraper is called the Citic Tower and is also known as China Zun. It is the headquarters of Citic Group, one of China’s biggest state-owned financial conglomerates.
An employee of a nearby gym, who identified himself by the surname Zhang, said that he was walking with friends in the area when he saw an aircraft hit the tower around 6 p.m. local time. A woman with a head injury was later taken away in an ambulance, he said.
The account could not be immediately verified. Calls to a nearby police station in Beijing rang unanswered.
The iconic tower was completed in 2018 and can be seen from across the city. It is across the street from another well-known Beijing architectural landmark, the headquarters of China Central Television, where nearly 20 police cars were parked on Friday night.
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