Metal debris with China flag, markings found off Mamburao

Large pieces of metal marked with the Chinese flag and markings have been recovered in waters off Occidental Mindoro,  the Philippine Coast Guard said on Monday.

According to a report on “24 Oras”, the PCG in Mamburao said its personnel were still figuring out from where the debris came.

It was earlier reported that portions of the booster stage that fell off from China's Long March 5B rocket fell into waters southeast of Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Remnants from the rocket were reported to have been seen in Malaysia and looked like shooting stars over the weekend.

It was not the first time such an incident occurred in the Philippines. In 2012, parts of a North Korean rocket crashed into the Philippine waters 300 kilometers East of Luzon.

Meanwhile, debris of the rocket was also found in Indonesia.

China said Long March 5B was designed to burn in the atmosphere and there was very little possibility it would cause damage to aviation activities.

“According to the information at hand, this rocket is designed with special technology, and the overwhelming majority of its components will burn up during the re-entry into the atmosphere. The probability of this process causing harm to aviation activities or to the ground is extremely low,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. -Mel Matthew Doctor/NB, GMA News