RUSSIA: Amateur videos show meteorite falling from sky in central Russia

Record ID: 217211

  • Title: RUSSIA: Amateur videos show meteorite falling from sky in central Russia
  • Date: 15th February 2013
  • Summary: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL PLEASE NOTE: PART AUDIO AS INCOMING (MUTE) KAMENSK-URALSKY, RUSSIA (FEBRUARY 15, 2013) (AMATEUR VIDEO) DASHBOARD VIDEO OF METEORITE CROSSING EARLY MORNING SKY
  • Embargoed: 2nd March 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Disasters,Science,Space
  • Reuters ID: LVAD9PTH1TKQZL3WHOKS0CKEY6ED
  • Story Text: Amateur videos show a meteorite falling from the sky in the Urals mountains in Russia.


    Up to 500 people were injured when a meteorite shot across the sky in central Russia on Friday (February 15) sending fireballs crashing to Earth, smashing windows and setting off car alarms.
    Amateur videos showed a meteorite crossing the sky in early morning hours in different cities several hundred kilometres apart.
    Residents on their way to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave, according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.
    The meteorite raced across the horizon, leaving a long white trail in its wake which could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away in Yekaterinburg. Car alarms went off, windows shattered and mobile phones worked only intermittently.
    Chelyabinsk city authorities said about 400 people sought medical help, mainly for light injuries caused by flying glass.
    "In the sky over the city of Chelyabinsk an object was spotted which flew in air with high speed leaving a trace in the sky. Two minutes later three consecutive explosions were heard, and the resulting impact wave smashed windows in the city of Chelyabinsk and neighbouring cities," head of Chelyabinsk regional emergencies ministry department Yuri Burenko said.
    No fatalities were reported but President Vladimir Putin, who was due to host Finance Ministry officials from the Group of 20 nations in Moscow, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were informed.
    A local ministry official said the meteor shower may have been connected with an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool that was due to pass Earth at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles) but this could not be confirmed.
    Chelyabinsk city authorities urged people to stay indoors unless they needed to pick up their children from schools and kindergartens. They said a blast had been heard at an altitude of 10,000 metres (32,800 feet), apparently signalling it occurred when the meteorite entered Earth's atmosphere.
    "Chelyabinsk was in the meteor shower zone. I think experts will provide more specific data later. I would like to address people living in our city to ask them to remain calm," Chelyabinsk mayor Sergei Davydov said.
    Such incidents are rare. A meteorite is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia in 1908, smashing windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.
    The U.S. space agency NASA has said an asteroid known as 2012 DA14, about 46 metres in diameter, would have an encounter with Earth closer than any asteroid since scientists began routinely monitoring them about 15 years ago.
    Television, weather and communications satellites fly about 500 miles (800 km) higher. The moon is 14 times farther away.
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