Shocked Malaysians saw fragments of a Chinese rocket re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, that looked like shooting stars in the sky.

Similar sights were reported over a number of cities in Malaysia on Sunday 31 July shortly before 1am local time.

"We also heard a loud bang when the light was seen passing through the sky," said Aizul Sidek, 19, one of the local residents.

Aizul, who was in Kuching City in Sarawak State at the time, captured the rare moment with his smartphone.

He added: "At first we thought it was a shooting star."

Another resident, Mohammad Saufiq, said the object was "clearly visible" from his home in Sibu City.

Malaysia's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation issued an official statement saying the light came from fragments of China's Long March 5B rocket, as it burned up on re-entry.

"The rest of the burned debris fell around the Sulu Sea, which is the area between latitude 9.1 North and Longitude 119.0 East," the statement said.

Shocked residents saw fragments of Chinese rockets that looked like shooting stars in the Malaysian sky.

The sights were reported to have occurred in a number of cities in Malaysia on Sunday 31 July shortly before 1am local time.

'We also heard a loud bang when the light was seen passing through the sky,' said Aizul Sidek, 19, one of the residents.

Aizul, who was in Kuching City, Sarawak State at the time, captured the rare moment with his smartphone.

He added: 'At first we thought it was a shooting star,' said Aizul.

Another resident, Mohammad Saufiq, said the object was 'clearly visible' from his home in Sibu City.

Apart from these two cities, residents in other cities also reported the same sight. One of them is in Bintulu City.

Malaysia's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation issued an official statement saying the light came from fragments of China's Long March 5B rocket.

The rocket debris launched from China into outer space caught fire as it entered Earth's airspace.

'The rest of the burned debris fell around the Sulu Sea, which is the area between latitude 9.1 North and Longitude 119.0 East,' the statement said.