China says space lab breaks up over South Pacific

A defunct Chinese space lab hurtled through Earth's atmosphere today, breaking up into piece as it headed towards a watery grave in the South Pacific.

The eight-tonne Tiangong-1 "mostly" burnt up above the vast ocean's central region at 8:15 am (0015 GMT), China's Manned Space Engineering Office said, moments after predicting a slightly later re-entry over the Atlantic.