Light plane crash at Beijing high-rise kills pilot

The surface of the Citic Tower is damaged in Beijing
A light plane crash in central Beijing left a small hole in CITIC Tower. -AP

A light aircraft crash into Beijing's tallest building ‌has killed the pilot and injured 13 people who were not on ‌board, the local government says, following the unusual accident for the Chinese capital, where ‌airspace is heavily restricted.

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

"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 5.55pm 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 central Beijing.

It is about 6km 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.