100 injured in Russia meteorite crash
2013-02-15 10:15
Video
2013-02-15 10:13
This YouTube video shows a meteor that has crashed in a rural area of Russia.WATCH
Moscow – A meteor streaked across the sky above Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday morning, causing sharp explosions and reportedly injuring around 100 people, including many hurt by broken glass.
Fragments of the meteor fell in a thinly populated area of the Chelyabinsk region, the emergencies ministry said in a statement.
Interior ministry spokesperson Vadim Kolesnikov said 102 people had called for medical assistance following the incident, mostly for treatment of injuries from glass broken by the explosions.
Kolsenikov also said about 600m² of a roof at a zinc factory had collapsed.
Reports conflicted on what exactly happened in the clear skies.
A spokesperson for the emergencies ministry, Irina Rossius, said that there was a meteor shower, but another ministry spokesperson, Elena Smirnikh, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying it was a single meteorite.
Amateur video broadcast on Russian television showed an object speeding across the sky about 03:20 GMT, leaving a thick white contrail and an intense flash.
- SAPA
