Indonesian authorities probe suspected Chinese rocket debris crash
Indonesian authorities are investigating after a car-sized piece of debris, possibly from a Chinese Zhuque-2E rocket, crashed into a palm oil plantation in Central Kalimantan. No injuries or damage were reported, and a second fragment was later found nearby.
Indonesian authorities were investigating on Tuesday after a car-sized piece of debris, possibly from a Chinese rocket according to a government agency, crashed into a palm oil plantation near homes and work sites in Indonesian Borneo.
The debris was found on Monday morning by a plantation worker in Central Kalimantan province, after residents reported hearing a loud bang the previous evening over a remote area. Wardi Tamroni, a 51-year-old worker at the PT Agro Bukit palm oil company, told AFP he initially thought it might be aircraft debris. The object crashed about three kilometres from the housing complex where he works.
"Fortunately, all the workers had already gone home, so no one was left in the plantation," Wardi said. Local police chief I Kadek Dwi Yoga Sidhimantra described the object as "a fairly large aluminium plate measuring up to nine metres with an irregular shape and visible burn marks".
The incident caused no loss of life or property damage, according to civil aviation spokesman Zachrudien, who also said the debris posed no radiation or toxicity risks. Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said the debris appeared to come from a Chinese Zhuque-2E rocket. The Chinese government said last week that a Zhuque-2E had launched 10 satellites into space from a commercial launch site in the country's northwest. The China National Space Administration could not be immediately reached for comment.
BRIN researcher Thomas Djamaluddin said not all parts of a spacecraft necessarily burn up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, and more heat-resistant parts may reach the surface. "This phenomenon is one possible explanation for the discovery of a large metal fragment in a palm oil plantation in Sampit," he said. Debris usually crashes into the oceans, which cover about 70 per cent of Earth's surface.
On Tuesday morning, a second piece of debris thought to be from the same rocket was found about one kilometre from the first, according to Zachrudien. "We plan to inspect it. From the photographs, the object appears to be round and related to the first object," he told AFP. The pieces were being examined at a nearby military airbase.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the casualty risk to individuals on Earth due to uncontrolled re-entry was lower than that for rare accidents such as lightning strikes or shark attacks, though it is rising. "Although the re-entry risks are still relatively small, they have grown considerably from 2019 to 2024, mainly due to increased space activities," the ESA Space Debris Office said in a report last year.
"If we had to anticipate something like this happening every day, we wouldn't be able to do our jobs," Wardi said of the freak event. "We have to leave it to fate. What else can we do?"