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Eyewitnesses in southern Siberia say saw flashes, presumably from collapsing Progress

The spacecraft developed equipment problems shortly after launch, according to Roscosmos

KRASNOYARSK, December 1. /TASS/. Fragments of the Progress MS-04 cargo craft, which failed to reach orbit after launch from the Baikonur Space Center on Thursday, has presumably collapsed on to the ground in the south Siberian region of Tuva, a source in the regional law enforcement agencies said quoting eyewitness accounts.

"Eyewitnesses say they saw flashes in the area of Ishtii-Hem township where fragments might have fallen," the source said.

The Soyuz-U launch vehicle with the Progress MS-04 cargo craft lifted off from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan it 17:51 Moscow Standard Time (14:51 UTC). It was supposed to deliver 2.5 tons of payload to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Russian federal aerospace corporation Roscosmos said in a report later the spacecraft had developed equipment problems shortly after launch. Specifically, transmission of telemetric information stopped after 383 second into the flight.

A source in the missile building industry told TASS the problems emerged during the third stage burn.

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