At least one person is dead and another injured after Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo space tourism craft crashed in the California desert, according to reports.

The company have released a statement: “Virgin Galactic’s partner Scaled Composites conducted a powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo earlier today.

“During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle.

“The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft landed safely.

“Our first concern is with crew and their families.

“We will work closely with relevant authorities to determine the cause of this accident and provide updates as soon as we are able to do so.”

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson tweeted that he was flying to California to be with the team.