Officials in Turks and Caicos said on Friday that debris from a SpaceX rocket test, which ended in the rocket exploding, littered the Caribbean islands. There have been no reports of injuries.
The statement from the government shared that the Turks and Caicos Islands Airport Authority diverted its flights in its airspace and grounded planes after the debris was found to be falling.
Videos online have shown the incident shortly after, showing glowing debris falling across the sky after the test saw the rocket’s upper stage break apart.
SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket and spacecraft on an uncrewed seventh test flight on Thursday. Nine minutes after liftoff, the company lost contact with Starship and then broke apart.
The statement from the government in Turks and Caicos added that they were not aware of any specific risks at this time related to the Starship debris. However, it did say that the debris “can sometimes contain hazardous materials which can cause serious harm to health.”
Anyone who encounters a piece of the debris should not touch it but record the time and location of its discovery. Officials are also asking that those who find debris take a photo of it, without touching it, and report it to nationalsecurity@gov.tc with the subject “Space X Debris.”
The statement said that the debris is the property of SpaceX.
Officials shared that when it comes to handling the debris and maintaining health and safety procedures, they are working with partners in the United Kingdom and the UK Space Agency.
The US has also stepped in, as the Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday night that it was grounding the Starship rocket while investigating the mid-flight accident.
The FAA is also working with local authorities to confirm reports of public property damage. The FAA confirmed that it had activated a “Debris Response Area” and slowed or stopped aircraft near where the incident happened and the debris was falling.
“Several aircraft requested to divert due to low fuel levels while holding outside impacted areas,” the agency said in a statement Friday.