Screenshot from YouTube user kinomanfilms
The Russian Urals region has been stricken by a sudden cosmic attack. Unidentified flying objects exploded over several major cities, including Chelyabinsk, where the blast waves blew out windows and disrupted mobile connections.
The Emergency Ministry said the incident was caused by a shower of meteorite debris. Unconfirmed reports suggested that a meteorite was shot down by Russian air defenses. Multiple dashboard videos appeared online, showing huge fireballs flying over buildings and exploding with a strong blast. A local zinc factory was the worst-hit, with some of its walls collapsed.
Photo from znak.com
8:10 GMT: Oleg Malkov, an aerospace scientist at Moscow State University, told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper that the meteorite went undetected by space scanners, likely because it was coming from the direction of the Sun. “We can only register stones coming from the direction of the night sky,” he explained. Malkov confirmed that the meteor shower in the Urals was not connected to the 2012DA14 asteroid that will approach Earth in a few hours.
8:03 GMT:Up to 250 injured, 3 in critical condition after meteorite hits
7:46 GMT: Ekaterinburg’s observatory has officially deemed the incident a fireball meteor shower. No evacuations were called for, and radiation levels were determined to be normal.
7:40 GMT: Vice Premier Dmitry Rogozin wrote on Twitter that he will offer suggestions to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on how to prevent or mitigate meteorite damage in future.
7:30 GMT: The number of people seeking medical attention has risen to 150.
Broken windows and debris are seen inside a sports hall following sightings of a falling object in the sky in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk February 15, 2013.(Reuters / OOO Spetszakaz)
Photo from znak.com
Screenshot from YouTube user kinomanfilms
