A Chinese Tianlong-3 rocket crashed on Sunday after an accidental launch during a ground test, its company Space Pioneer said in a statement.

Space Pioneer, a leading commercial rocket company, specializes in liquid propellant rockets.

According to CNN, the incident occurred when the first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket detached from its launch pad due to a structural failure. The missile landed in a hilly area of ​​the city of Gongyi in central China.

In a statement, Space Pioneer explained that the connection between the rocket body and the test platform failed, causing the first stage rocket to separate from the launch pad.

After takeoff, the on-board computer shut down automatically and the rocket fell into the deep mountains 1.5 kilometers southwest of the test platform. The body of the rocket fell on the mountain and disintegrated.

According to the company's statement, there were no injuries after the crash as people in the area were evacuated before the missile test.

The Tianlong-3, the rocket that crashed on Sunday, is a large liquid-launched rocket. It was created to help build China's Internet satellite network.

The accident comes just days after China's Chang'e-6 lunar module returned to Earth from space, where it collected the first ever samples from the dark side of the Moon.