Residents on the Caribbean island of Turks and Caicos say they have been mostly left to clear up themselves following the spectacular explosion of the most powerful SpaceX rocket ever launched.
The explosion last month – described as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” by SpaceX left debris strewn across the Turks and Caicos.
The explosion was caught on video by residents and guests on visiting cruise ships in the Caribbean just minutes after it launched from Texas. Debris from the explosion has littered the main island of Providenciales. There were no injuries and only one instance of property damage has been reported since the mid-January incident.
Three weeks since then, local residents have cited a very slow and disjointed response from SpaceX. They have been told not to handle any spaceship debris but it has effectively been left for days after landing on beaches and close to tourist spots popular with visiting cruise guests.
Alizee Zimmermann, executive director of the Turks and Caicos Reef Fund, said debris was washed up on every beach in Providenciales.
“Just being witnesses to this explosion and actually receiving debris, it makes you question a lot of things. Like is this safe?” tourist Elena Zavet, visiting from Florida, told CNN affiliate WSVN.
“I’m into the launches and what Musk is doing,” said Amos Lucker, owner of a Providenciales car rental business. told “But I think he should be liable for the cleanup, too.”
TCI, UK Officials Meet with SpaceX
The accident investigation is a multi-agency one, involving the FAA, SpaceX, the Turks and Caicos government and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which has jurisdiction as TCI is a British territory. They met in late January to draw up a recovery plan to record and collect all debris.
Apart from an initial ground stop on flights after the explosion, the incident hasn’t impacted travel to, from or within the Turks and Caicos by air or sea. The destination welcomed nearly two million tourists in 2024, or which more than 1.2 million were cruise ship arrivals.
