A Long March-2C carrier rocket carrying the Shijian-11-07 experimental satellite flies into the sky at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 28, 2014. [File Photo: Xinhua]

A social media post by a Chinese netizen has provoked heated discussion online.

After watching an Associated Press documentary about the explosion of China's Long March rocket in 1996, a netizen wrote that the rocket crashed into a mountain hitting a residential area killing at least 500 people. The post says that nothing was left of the residential quarters after the accident.

The authorities admit that the CZ-3B rocket veering off course just after take off. Within thirty seconds, it had crashed into mountains nearby, destroying itself and the satellite it was carrying.

But - the big question is, did the accident really caused the deaths of 500 civilians?

China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation says that was simply not possible.

On its official Weibo social media account, the corporation says the suggestions were just hearsay.

It pointed out that no residential accommodation is permitted so near to the rocket launch site due to safety and confidentiality. It's one of the reasons why so many aerospace workers typically live apart from their spouses.

The corporation said the building show in the video provided technicians with temporary accommodation, and would have been evacuated 12 hours before the launch.