China's rocket crashes after 'accidental launch'

Incident occurs due to structural failure during ground test

A powerful Chinese rocket crashed after an “accidental launch” during a ground test on Sunday due to a structural failure, a private company responsible for the rocket said.

Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology, said in a statement that the Tianlong-3 rocket was unexpectedly launched during a static-fire test at a facility in Gongyi county in Henan province.

Luckily it landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi and the company said there were no injuries as people in the area were evacuated in advance of the rocket test.