SANTO DOMINGO– A small plane crashed into the tallest building in Beijing, the capital of China, on Friday. So far, it is unknown if there were any casualties or what the circumstances of the crash were. The building is the CITIC Tower, better known as the China Zun Tower, which has 108 floors and stands 528 meters tall.
Media outlets such as ABC highlight the heavy police presence at the scene of the crash and report that the aircraft's impact damaged two glass panels on one of the skyscraper's upper floors. The impact also caused debris, including the tail section of the small plane, to fall onto the street.
Police closed at least one main road near the building, installed a folding metal fence, and stationed a patrol car with flashing lights, while pedestrians ran for cover. Despite these safety measures, at least one woman was injured by falling debris and had to be taken to the hospital, according to the New York Times.
A worker at a nearby gym told the New Yorker that he was walking with friends in the area when he saw a plane crash into the tower around 6 p.m. local time. A messenger who spoke to Reuters near the building said he rushed to the skyscraper after hearing a loud crash: "It was very loud, louder than fireworks.".
Another messenger who spoke to the news agency said he went to the scene after seeing unverified images on social media showing the wreckage of a small aircraft on a road next to the building. The videos were later removed from the platforms.
Construction of the iconic tower was completed in 2018, and it crowns the city, making it visible from almost anywhere in Beijing. It stands directly opposite another well-known Beijing landmark, the headquarters of China Central Television, where nearly 20 police cars were parked on Friday night, ABC reports.
According to Wikipedia, the skyscraper is located in the financial district of Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, and its name, China Zun, comes from the Zun, an ancient Chinese wine vessel that inspired the skyscraper's design, according to its developer, the CITIC Group. Construction began on September 19, 2011, in Beijing, and the building was inaugurated in 2018.
