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A Chinese rocket booster appeared to have narrowly missed a school when it fell back to Earth after the Long March 4B rocket launch.
The incident took place just metres from a school in Lilong village, Gaoyao Town, some 300 miles away from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China, on Monday.
Incredible footage shared on Weibo shows the booster falling from space as villagers yell and warn others.
Another clip shows the moment of the crash as it lands somewhere behind a dormitory building with a large plume of orange smokes filling up the sky.
As Space.com notes, it seems to have exploded close to a school, with the screams of children heard in what seems to be a playground
The fallen booster is seen marked with "China Aero-" on the body as villagers examine it.
The clip was first shared to a closed group of aerospace enthusiasts, who stated the crash happened at around 2.05pm on September 7.
China's state-run media, CCTV, confirmed that Long March 4B lifted off from the launch centre at 1.57pm on the same day.
A spokesperson from the local council said no casualties have been reported. They added: "It's rocket debris. It crashed on a mountain, at a certain distance away from residences."
The Long March 4B rocket carried a sub-meter resolution optical satellite, known as Gaofen-11b, which can provide high-resolution images.
It can also be used for land surveys, city planning, land rights confirmation, road network design, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and mitigation.
According to Space.com, the rocket booster uses a mix of toxic hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide for propellant and any contact with either of the chemicals could bring serious effects on health.
Chinese officials has yet to reveal any details on the return of the booster.
- Space
- China
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