Skyscraper sways in China inexplicably causing panic scenes

Hong Kong (CNN) – Thousands of people in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen fled around a 291-meter-high skyscraper on Tuesday after the building inexplicably began to sway.

Videos circulating on Chinese social media showed crowds moving away from the wobbly building, while some shouted and looked back.

People in Shenzhen reported to have fled the 73-story SEG Plaza after the building tilted on its foundations. No earthquake recorded in the area https://t.co/OV0g4Luz5O

– Austin Ramzy (@austinramzy) May 18, 2021

At that time there was good weather and there were no reports of an earthquake in the region. No deaths or injuries were reported.

The SEG Plaza in Shenzhen started shaking around 12:30 pm local time. Some 15,000 people were inside, according to the official newspaper of the Shenzhen Municipal Communist Party Committee. Everyone inside was evacuated within 90 minutes, local authorities said.

Authorities investigating the cause of the movement said in a statement that “anomalies in the main structure and the surrounding environment of the building” had not been found.

People look towards SEG Plaza in Shenzhen after being evacuated from the shaky building.

The city’s weather station reported a maximum wind speed of around 20 mph as of noon Tuesday, a speed of movement described as a “cool breeze” by the US National Weather Service.

The tower is located in the busy Huaqiangbei business district, home to the world’s largest electronics market. The building houses several local tech companies and a multi-story electronics mall.

Completed in 2000, SEG Plaza is the 18th tallest building in Shenzhen and the 104th tallest in China, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s skyscraper database.