Pilot Dead, 13 People Injured After Plane Crashes Into Beijing’s Tallest Building

The small plane that crashed into Beijing’s tallest building this week only had one passenger, the pilot, who is now dead. Thirteen others were injured in the incident.

The plane crashed into the 109-story CITIC Tower in China’s capital city on Friday, June 26, sending members of the public fleeing as debris rained down from the sky, as seen in videos surfacing online. 

The incident in Beijing’s Central Business District left the pilot of the aircraft dead and injured 13 others who were not on board, Reuters reported, citing the Chaoyang district government. The pilot was the only person on the plane, according to authorities.

“A single-engine, two-seat light sport aircraft collided with a high-rise building while flying near the East third ring road in Chaoyang, at ​5:55 p.m. (0955 GMT) on June 26,” the district government said, per the outlet. “There was only one person on ​board, the pilot, who died.”

Those injured in the incident are receiving medical treatment, Chaoyang’s government said, according to Reuters.

No further details of the crash were provided. It remains unclear whether it was deliberate or accidental.

Authorities are investigating the incident.

A dramatic social media video, verified by The New York Times, showed the immediate aftermath of the incident, including a piece of broken glass and even a portion of the aircraft’s tail seemingly falling dozens of stories onto the streets of Beijing. 

Photos from the building, which is the headquarters of the state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group, appear to show a hole left by two damaged large glass panels.

PEOPLE has reached out to the CITIC Group for comment.

As of Saturday, June 27, the damage caused by the crash has been boarded up, per Reuters.

Eyewitnesses previously shared firsthand accounts of the fatal crash.

An employee of a nearby gym, who identified himself with his surname Zhang to The Times, said he saw the aircraft hit the tower around 6 p.m. local time on Friday. The same man also claimed that a woman with a head injury was taken away from the scene by ambulance.

A mail worker similarly told Reuters he heard a large crash from a nearby building around 6 p.m., after which he ran outside and saw an aircraft the size of a car crash into the Beijing building.

“It was so loud – louder than fireworks,” he said of the crash.

Following the incident, a heavy police and firefighter presence was spotted around the building, according to The Times, Reuters and CNN.

As police ushered people away from the scene, they also stopped witnesses from taking photos and asked others to delete images they had taken, NBC News reported.

The mail worker who spoke with Reuters said he captured video of the airplane sticking out of the building, but later deleted it out of fear of getting caught by police. One officer also reportedly told a Reuters journalist to leave the scene.