PLA Military Jet Crashes In Middle Of Chinese City, Leaving At Least 1 Dead

Chinese media showed images of the dramatic aftermath of a military jet crash in a busy residential area of the city of Laohekou, in central Hubei province Thursday morning.

China’s state-run national broadcaster CCTV confirmed that at least one person was killed, and two others injured. Military sources said it was a PLA Air Force J-7 fighter that went down near the city’s airport while on a training mission.

Image source: Jiajiang Police

The pilot had successfully ejected from the plane prior to the crash, resulting in a huge fireball amid residential buildgings, and only sustained minor injuries.

Tragically, the fatality was reported to be a resident on the ground at the time of impact, with the pilot along with the injured in the area rushed to local hospitals.

According to a description of the dramatic fiery crash in CNN, “Videos circulating on social media show some homes on fire, believed to have been caused by the crash, which occurred near Laohekou airport in Xiangyang, Hubei province.”

“The cause of the crash and related casualties is under investigation, with emergency response underway, state media said.”

Several apartments were seen on fire in the crash aftermath, according to eyewitness reports.

Laohekou Airport is reportedly mainly used as a military training site for new fighter pilots belonging to Central Theatre Command Air Force. It has long stopped serving civilians aviation routes. It’s as yet unclear what caused the crash.