Russian rocket carrying 3 satellites explodes after liftoff

A Russian rocket carrying three Glonass-M communications satellites suffered an apparent engine malfunction and exploded shortly after blasting off in Kazakhstan, the Russian Space Agency said Tuesday.

No injuries or property damage was reported in the explosion.

A live television broadcast showed the Proton-M rocket, which was filled with about 600 tons of fuel, listed and fell before exploding over the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan seconds after liftoff.

"There was an accident during the Proton-M launch. The rocket fell and exploded on the territory of the launch site," a space agency spokesman said.

The space agency said in a statement that the explosion was most likely caused by an engine malfunction.

"The engines made an emergency stop 17 seconds after the launch. The rocket fell about 2.5 km away from the launch pad," the space agency said.

Specialists were evacuated from nearby launch pads as a toxic cloud generated by rocket fuel materialized over the site.

Kazakhstan authorities said the mishap would not pose any environmental threats to towns near the space center. Emergency services, however, urged local residents to insulate their homes and stay inside.

The Proton-M, equipped with a DM-03 booster, was to place three communication satellites into orbit. Another Proton with the same booster also failed to reach orbit in 2012.

Source: ANTARA