TOKYO: A major fire erupted Tuesday at a Japan space agency site as it tested a solid-fuel Epsilon S rocket, television footage showed.
There were no reports of any injuries in the incident in the remote Kagoshima region of southern Japan.
Towering balls of fire and white fumes rose from the Tanegashima Space Center, according to the footage from national broadcaster NHK.
Officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) could not immediately be reached for comment.
NHK says the fire happened during a combustion test that began at around 8:30 am (2330 GMT), with media stationed around 600 metres (yards) away.
About 30 seconds later, a large explosion was heard, and what appeared to be something on fire flew toward the sea, NHK said.
The Sankei Shimbun reported that orange flames burst out from the rocket engine placed on a horizontal platform before the explosion.
