Aircraft crash in Beijing kills pilot, injures 13 people

A aircraft crash into Beijing's tallest building on Friday killed ​the pilot and injured 13 people who were not on ‌board, the local government said.

Those injured are receiving medical treatment and authorities are ​investigating the incident, Chaoyang district government said in a statement ​on Saturday.

As reports indicate, this is an unusual accident for the Chinese capital, where airspace is heavily restricted.

"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," said the ​statement, which was posted on social media.

"There was only one person on board, the pilot, who died," the statement added, without giving any further details of ​the possible cause of the crash.

Damage to the facade of the ​skyscraper appeared to be limited to a hole caused by the loss of ‌two ⁠large glass panels.

The gap had been temporarily boarded up as of Saturday.

Reuters reported on Friday the crash into the 528-metre-high building, known as CITIC Tower or China Zun, in Beijing's Central Business ​District. It is about ​6 km (3.7 ⁠miles) from the Forbidden City visited by thousands of tourists each day.

It is also near Zhongnanhai, a ​compound that houses the offices of China's top ​political leadership.

The ⁠incident follows Beijing's ban since May on buying, renting or flying drones without authorisation, due to public security concerns.

The last aircraft crash in ⁠Beijing ​was in 2022, when a tourist helicopter ​crashed during a flight between the Changping and Fangshan districts, killing the two pilots ​on board.

-Reuters