A CHINESE rocket has crashed into a hillside with a massive explosion after it launched by accident during a test on Sunday.
The rocket, owned by private Chinese space company Tianbig Technology, is supposed to be an upcoming rival to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The rocket was sat on the launch pad ready for testing.
But footage that has gone viral on social media shows the Tianlong-3 rocket in the air, before it curls back towards Earth in an uncontrolled fall.
The rocket then crashes into a forested hillside in China’s Henan province.
According to Tianbig Technology, the rocket “fell into a deep mountain 1.5km southwest of the test bench”.
It added that there were no casualties from the incident, and that people in the area had been evacuated.
In a statement, the rocket firm said the shock take-off was caused by a “structural failure at the connection between the rocket body and the test bench”.
This failure prompted the onboard computer to automatically shutdown, the company stated.
