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(Beijing) A witness reported the wreckage of a small plane and a fire at the base of Beijingโs tallest skyscraper on Friday, with AFP journalists noting a visible breach in the buildingโs upper floors.
Video taken by this witness from a nearby building shows fire trucks battling the flames at the base of Citic Tower. The height is 528 meters, it is located in the business district in the east of the Chinese capital.
The images also show what appears to be part of a small passenger plane at the base of the skyscraper. The building is located in close proximity to the Chinese Public Television building.
AFP journalists noted a hole in the windows of one of the upper floors of the Citic tower, as well as the presence of numerous police and ambulances at the scene.
When contacted, the police refused to comment on the incident.
โI donโt know why this plane came here. Itโs really very strange,โ the witness, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
โI saw debris coming out. It looked like part of an airplane,โ another man who said he worked at the Citic tower told AFP.
Dozens of cleaners gathered at the security perimeter.
The woman told AFP that occupants of the Citic tower were told to evacuate via stairs rather than using elevators.
โI ran dozens of floors,โ she said.
If a plane crashed into the Citic Tower, it would be an extremely rare and unexpected incident as Beijing has extremely strict safety measures.
โShockedโ
PHOTO MAXIM SHEMETOV, REUTERS
Citic Tower can accommodate 12,000 employees.
โThis canโt happen in Beijing. This is Beijingโฆ Itโs quite common abroad, but it shouldnโt happen in China,โ a woman watching the building from the street told AFP.
โI was really shocked.โ
A student who came to inspect the scene told AFP that he went there as soon as information about the incident began to spread in a group of aviation enthusiasts on social networks.
Images and posts related to the incident were quickly removed from the Internet, he said.
Citic Tower can accommodate approximately 12,000 employees.
China imposes strict restrictions on the use of its airspace, especially over the capital.
In April, Chinese authorities announced a ban on the sale of drones in Beijing and an obligation for drone users to obtain prior permission for any flight in the capital.