Eyewitness footage has captured the moment a Chinese space rocket accidentally launched during a test before falling and crashing in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China.

Beijing Tianbing Technology Co said the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket under development had detached from its launch pad during a test due to structural failure.

Footage from the incident showed the moment the rocket appeared to lose power before it crashed and exploded, causing a huge fireball to go up.

The location was confirmed by the shape of the mountains and building seen in the video which matched satellite imagery of the area.

The flight path of the rocket and the smoke from the launch, from the explosion during flight and from the crash match verified corroborating footage from the scene.

The date was verified by an official statement from the company confirming the crash.

There were no reports of casualties after an initial investigation, Beijing Tianbing, also known as Space Pioneer, said in a statement on its official WeChat account.

Parts of the rocket stage were scattered within a "safe area" but caused a local fire which has since been extinguished and no one has been hurt, according to a statement by the Gongyi emergency management bureau.

Falling rocket debris in China after launches is not unheard of, but it is very rare for part of a rocket under development to make an unplanned flight out of its test site and crash.