Debris from the rocket carrying the Chang'e 4 robotic probe was found in the mountains of Tongren city, Southwest China's Guizhou province on Saturday morning, about 90 minutes after the launch.

Xichang Satellite Launch Center confirmed that the debris found in the forest of the city's Wangping village belonged to the carrier.

Niu Zhenhua, deputy commander of Guizhou Observation Station of XSLC, said the debris has been recycled by XSLC. For some large pieces of debris, recovery crews will cut them into smaller pieces for better preservation and further research.

More than 500,000 area residents were evacuated in advance from areas where the debris might fall. authorities said. Nobody was hurt by the falling debris.

Li Hanyi contributed to this story.