One of China’s tallest skyscrapers was evacuated after it began to shake, sending panicked shoppers running for safety.
The SEG Plaza, which stand at 980ft high, began to shake inexplicably at around 1pm, prompting the emergency evacuation of people inside.
Pedestrians on the streets looked on open-mouthed after the huge building situated in the southern city of Shenzhen, began to sway mysteriously.
The building was sealed shut as of 2.40pm, according to local media reports and nobody was hurt, but authorities have no idea why the enormous structire moved.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
No earthquakes have been recorded and emergency management officials are now investigating what caused the tower in Shenzhen’s Futian district to wobble, according to a post on the Weibo platform – a social media site similar to Twitter.
Local weather reports recorded a wind speed of 27mph at the time, which was not strong enough to have caused the motion, reports the Daily Mail.
“After checking and analysing the data of various earthquake monitoring stations across the city, there was no earthquake in Shenzhen today,” a statement on Weibo said.
“The cause of the shaking is being verified by various departments.”
Bystander videos published by local media on Weibo showed the skyscraper shaking on its foundations as hundreds of terrified pedestrians fled.
“SEG has been completely evacuated,” wrote one Weibo user in a caption to a video of hundreds of people milling about on a wide shopping street near the tower.
It was not immediately clear how authorities would handle a dangerous building of its scale in the heart of a city with over 12 million inhabitants.
The SEG Plaza is named after the semiconductor and electronics manufacturer Shenzhen Electronics Group, whose offices are based in the building, was completed in 2000, and is home to various offices.
Five of the world’s tallest skyscrapers are located in China, including the world’s second-tallest building, the Shanghai Tower, which stands at 2,073ft, and the SEG Plaza is the 18th tallest tower in Shenzhen, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat skyscraper database.
Last year, Chinese authorities banned the construction of skyscrapers taller than 1,640ft, adding to height restrictions already enforced in some cities like Beijing.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The new guidelines for architects, urban planners and developers was intended to ‘highlight Chinese characteristics’ and also to prevent ‘copycat’ buildings being put up, modelled after world landmarks.
Shenzhen is a sprawling metropolis in southern China, close to Hong Kong, and has a rapidly growing tech manufacturing scene.
Many Chinese tech giants, including Huawei, have chosen the city to host their headquarters.