Former Chinese president Hu Jintao was unexpectedly led out of Saturday’s closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress in a dramatic moment that disrupted the highly choreographed event.

Hu’s departure was left unexplained, and the nation’s censors appeared to quickly scrub any recent references to him from the internet.

The frail-looking 79-year-old seemed reluctant to leave the front row of proceedings at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, where he was sitting next to President Xi Jinping.

After an exchange of about a minute, in which Hu spoke briefly with Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, he was led out of the hall.

The week-long Congress occurred mostly behind closed doors, but Hu’s departure occurred shortly after journalists were allowed in to cover the closing ceremony.

Authorities offered no explanation for Hu’s exit, which came just before the 2,300 delegates at the Congress voted unanimously to endorse Xi’s core leadership position.