An epic homemade rocket fired 30,000ft into the sky, narrowly missing planes.

Footage shows the pyrotechnic flying upwards as it was launched from the Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival grounds in Surin province, Thailand, on May 19.

The rocket left a trail of white smoke behind and disappeared into a mere dot. However, plane passengers reportedly spotted the debris emerge from the clouds only about 20ft away from the wing as they travelled above the province.

Due to this, authorities ordered an investigation into every district to probe their safety measures and prevent similar incidents form happening again.

Police Major General Sukon Sriarun said: ‘We have ordered police investigators to go to areas where the rockets were being flown. We need to make sure proper measures are being followed to maintain public order.'

The exhibition of homemade rockets was part of the Bun Bang Fai festival or the Rocket Festival which is celebrated in several provinces in the northeastern part of the country.

In Thai, ‘bun' means ‘merit, ' and ‘bang' means bamboo, which is used to make rockets. ‘Fai' means ‘fire' representing gunpowder being stuffed into the rockets.

According to local beliefs, the rockets are launched skyward as an offering to Phaya Thaen, the Buddhist deity associated with rain.

The event happens each year at the end of the hot season, when temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius.

Locals believe firing rockets into the clouds triggers the much-needed rains for their rice crops. However, the resulting rain is likely due to the onset of the monsoon season.