China says it is tracking its out-of-control rocket amid fears it could drop anywhere on Earth

Long March 5B rocket is built to break up as it falls to Earth, foreign ministry says

China is tracking an out-of-control rocket that is set to fall to Earth in the coming days, it has said.

The country committed to provide information on the rocket’s movements in a timely manner, its foreign ministry said.

There are fears that the rocket could drop unpredictably down to Earth, and could pose a danger to any populated areas that it drops onto.

The Long March 5B rocket was launched over the weekend. Since then, it has begun falling back down to Earth – with even China seemingly unable to predict where exactly it will fall.

It is an international practice to allow stages of rockets to burn up on re-entering of earth’s atmosphere, said ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a regular media briefing, when asked if China knows when and where the rocket debris could land.

It is understood that this type of rocket adopts a special technical design and most components will be ablated and destroyed during reentry, with a very low probability of causing harm to aviation and the ground, Zhao said.

Additional reporting by Reuters