A helicopter exploded in flight in East China's Zhejiang province on Thursday night, China Central Television reported.

The incident occurred at about 7:10 pm in Baofu, Anji county.

Local people posted micro blogs saying that they heard a loud blast and then felt a shock wave.

The pilot escaped, CCTV said. It did not say whether other people were aboard the helicopter, or whether the blast injured anyone on the ground.

Police officers and firefighters rushed to the scene to search and investigate, the report said.