China rocket launch carrying satellite fails, Xinhua says

A Chinese Long March 7A rocket carrying a communications satellite failed after a flight anomaly during a launch from Hainan, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said.

The rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site at 8:02 pm Monday (1202 GMT) with the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite, Xinhua said. It said an anomaly occurred during flight and the cause was under investigation.

Singapore-based broadcaster Channel NewsAsia said the rocket exploded and posted footage showing crowds watching a fiery ball in the sky. A video posted from a social media profile located in Hainan showed a rocket bursting into flames about 85 seconds after launch, leaving grey smoke and falling debris.

China has invested billions of dollars in its space programme and aims to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030. Its maiden Long March 7A launch from Wenchang in 2020 was also unsuccessful after a malfunction, Xinhua reported at the time. China's space agency said in July that the country had successfully landed a reusable rocket for the first time.