MOSCOW, May 16. /ITAR-TASS/. Fragments of the carrier rocket Proton-M could fall in different places, a space industry source has told ITAR-TASS.
"In any case, Proton-M rocket fragments did not fall in the grounds of Baikonur (spaceport), or in general in the territory of Kazakhstan. Most probably, this happened (when the rocket was) already far away, in an off-normal impact area," the source said.
"All the causes and a possible impact area are being ascertained. No information has been received from Baikonur so far, since people monitoring the Proton-M liftoff are in a bunker at the moment of liftoff proper," the source specified.
He added, "The breakdown occurred during the operation of the third stage of the carrier rocket, prior to the acceleration unit's separation".