cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/55348566
Here is a video (1 min).
Another report says the crash killed the pilot and injured 13.
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On Friday afternoon [June 26] a small plane appeared to evade some of the world’s strictest aviation controls and slam into the tallest skyscraper in Beijing, the 109-story CITIC Tower that dominates the city’s skyline, killing the pilot and injuring 13 other people.
The crash sent shards of glass and aircraft debris plummeting hundreds of feet down to the streets below as office workers left for the weekend, causing panic in the heart of China’s most protected city.
A short while later, it was like nothing had happened.
All references to the incident – and the shocking footage of it – had been scrubbed from Chinese social media. The government initially did not publicly acknowledge any incident had taken place. State media – including the country’s national broadcaster CCTV, headquartered across the road from the crash site – made no mention of the incident.
That’s thanks to the work of China’s army of censors and the Communist authorities’ obsessive control over information – particularly concerning events they believe may bring negative attention or consequences
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It’s still unknown whether the crash was accidental or intentional.
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The CITIC tower, is 528-meters tall (equivalent to 1,732 feet). It has been Beijing’s tallest building since 2018 and dominates the skyline.
It hosts China’s state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group and tech giant Alibaba and the surrounding neighborhood is a prime location in Beijing, and frequented by foreigners and diplomats. The embassies of countries ranging from the UK to Vietnam are just steps away, as are big names in global finance including the World Bank and IFC’s China offices.
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Beijing resident Anna, who wanted only her first name used, said she went to the site after hearing about the crash online.
“I was just like two stops away… and I saw this post… but it gets deleted soon. So I just came here.”
The footage has since gone viral on social media outside mainland China.
Inside the country, a search for “plane crash in Beijing” on Weibo, China’s version of X, produced no relevant results.
It is common practice for Chinese authorities to act quickly to censor or impose an information blackout and deploy a heavy police presence to any incident that is seen as potentially destabilizing social stability.
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