The world was shocked by shocking news from Beijing: a Chinese crew is stranded on the Tiangong Space Station after its return craft was “pierced” by tiny space debris – which experts have likened to “bullets fired from nowhere”.

According to an official statement from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Wednesday morning, tiny metal fragments, possibly as small as grains of sand, hit the outer chamber of the return capsule, causing serious damage that made it unsafe for re-entry.

A source in Beijing said the three astronauts are currently in a stable condition, “calm but highly alert”, while hundreds of engineers on the ground worked through the night to find a rescue plan. One anonymous official is said to have exclaimed: “We have not seen such a tense situation since Sputnik!”

International experts have called it a “harsh wake-up call” about the dangers of space junk – debris from failed satellites, old rockets, and even peeling paint, which is floating around Earth like an invisible minefield.

An expert from the European Institute for Space Research said: “If just one piece of debris flies at a speed of 27,000 km/h, it can pierce steel. No one can be completely safe out there.”

Meanwhile, Chinese state media have tried to maintain a reassuring tone, calling it a “minor technical problem in a harsh environment.” However, many unofficial sources said that an emergency rescue mission using a new Shenzhou spacecraft may be in the works, although there has been no confirmation.

On social media, millions of Chinese are praying for the crew, while international netizens are asking: Is this the first time humans have actually been stranded in space – and if so, how will they get back?

A fictional event that sounds like a Hollywood movie – and this time, the “movie” is taking place out there, in the sky, where there is no way back.