A small plane crashed into Beijing’s CITIC Tower on Friday, causing visible damage to the skyscraper and sending debris falling to the ground.
According to The Sun, citing footage circulating on social media, the aircraft struck the side of the tower, shattering at least two windows before breaking apart on impact.
Videos from the scene showed fragments of the plane plunging from the building, while thick smoke rose from the ground level where wreckage was scattered.
Images shared online also revealed a large hole in the exterior of CITIC Tower, the tallest building in Beijing.
Following the crash, authorities stepped up security around the area. Reuters witnesses reported a heightened police presence around the tower, with officers stopping passersby from taking photographs of the building.
Police also closed several roads around CITIC Tower as emergency crews responded to the incident, according to Reuters witnesses.
Emergency responders were deployed to the area following the crash.
The building has been evacuated and the authorities have not yet confirmed the number of casualties or provided details on those aboard the aircraft.
The CITIC Tower is located in Beijing’s central business district in the Chaoyang District and ranks as the third-tallest building in China, behind the Shanghai Tower and the Ping An Finance Centre.
According to reports, the B-12PP aircraft was being flown by a lone pilot and had departed from Shifosi Airport around 30 minutes before the crash. Flight data showed the aircraft was due to return and land at the airport at about 5:40 pm, but it later veered off its planned route.
Tracking systems monitored the plane until it disappeared from radar near Beijing’s East Fifth Ring Road area. Contact with the aircraft was subsequently lost, and attempts to reach it were unsuccessful.
With inputs from agencies