Meteorite explosion injures hundreds in Russia
Source: B92, advance.hr
MOSCOW -- One or more meteorites that early on
Friday exploded in Earth's lower atmosphere, above the Ural Mountains in
Russia, left more than 700 people injured.
(Beta/AP)
Three Russian cities saw panic as a series of balsts shook houses and shattered windows on homes.
Eyewitnesses said that the sound of the explosions was very loud, reminiscent of "a lightning strike and an earthquake at the same time".
It is unclear at this point whether more meteorites entered the atmosphere, or if one was shot down by the Russian military and thus fragmented.
Russia Today is reporting that a 6-meter crater had been found in the area, without any signs of increased radiation.
The Russian Academy of Sciences announced on Friday that the meteorite weighed 100 kilograms before entering the atmosphere. Reports earlier in the day suggested that it had a ten-meter diameter.
Some sources claim that it exploded a total of nine times, starting when it was 55 kilometers above the ground.
Strong light illuminated the skies over Chelyabinsk, Tyumen and Sverdlovsk, but also above northern Kazakhstan early this morning. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry confirmed that one meteorite hit the Chelyabinsk region.
The ministry also said it sent 20,000 rescuers to the region, and denied that telecommunication links had been severed.
It has also been confirmed that the roof had collapsed on a zinc processing plant.
According to the Russian media, the meteorite over Chelyabinsk was shot down by the Russian Air Defense, reportedly when it was 20 kilometers above the ground.
Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev stated that no serious incidents took place, and that the meteorite shower "could be a symbol of the upcoming economic forum in Russia". According to him, the event showed that "not only the economy, but the entire planet is vulnerable".
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