A small plane appeared to have struck the 108-story CITIC Tower in Beijing on Friday afternoon, leaving a trail of debris and sparking fears of casualties.
According to reports, people evacuated from the skyscraper gathered on the streets near the entrance, along with firetrucks, police cars, and an ambulance.
Dramatic footage posted on social media showed debris falling from the building, along with a tail section of the plane and a broken taxi window on the ground.
The building is the headquarters of the state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group and the tallest building in the Chinese capital.
A courier who witnessed the incident described the sound as 'louder than fireworks' and said he had shot a video of the aircraft protruding from the building, but later deleted it due to fear of getting caught by the police.
The incident has raised concerns about the safety of Beijing's airspace, particularly after the city enacted sweeping regulations on its airspace last month, effectively banning casual recreational flying and consumer drones.
