Sky is falling! Farmers wake up to piece of space rocket that fell to earth narrowly missing their homes in southeastern China
Metal piece measuring about 10.3 metres long and 4.5 metres across narrowly misses homes, state media reports
Villagers in southeastern China awoke this weekend to find a metal chunk from a space rocket had narrowly missed their homes as it fell to earth, slamming instead into a nearby hillside, state media reported.
The piece, measuring about 10.3 metres long and 4.5 metres across, had broken off the rocket that launched the APSTAR-9 satellite, launched from Xichang in Sichuan province shortly after midnight on Saturday.
It wasn't clear what happened during the launch that caused the debris to fall. But the report carried on the website of People's Daily called the launch a success.
Residents of Yuanxi village in the southeastern province of Jiangxi might take a slightly different view. They found the gleaming white sheet of metal on a hillside not far from their residences.
The debris had severed the electricity supply in the area but otherwise had not caused any damage.