An unmanned cargo ship travelling to the International Space Station burned up in the atmosphere shortly after lauching Thursday, the Russian space agency said. 

"According to preliminary information, as a result of an abnormal situation, the cargo ship's loss occurred some 190 kilometres above the remote, unpopulated mountainous territory of (Russia's) Tuva region, and most fragments burned up in dense layers of the atmosphere," Roscosmos said in a statement.