Cuba reports meteorite explosion
2013-02-16 22:14
Havana - Cuba apparently experienced a phenomenon similar to
but smaller than the meteorite that detonated over Russia this week, island
media reported, with startled residents describing a bright light in the sky
and a loud explosion that shook windows and walls.
There were no reports of any injuries or damage such as
those caused by the Russia meteorite, which sent out shockwaves that hurt some
1 200 people and shattered countless windows.
In a video from a state TV newscast posted on the website
CubaSi late on Friday, unidentified residents of the central city of Rodas,
near Cienfuegos, said the explosion was impressive.
"On Tuesday we left home to fish around five in the
afternoon, and around 08:00 we saw a light in the heavens and then a big ball
of fire, bigger than the sun," one local man said in the video.
"My home shook completely," said a woman. "I
had never heard such a strange thing."
Marcos Rodriguez, whom the video identified as a specialist
in anthropology, said all signs point to a meteorite.
According to scientists, five to 10 smaller meteorites hit
the planet each year. Larger events like the one over Russia are more rare, and
some experts said it may have been the biggest such blast since another meteor
hit Siberia in 1908.
Also Friday, residents of the San Francisco Bay Area
reported seeing a fireball in the sky that scientists said was likely a piece
of space rock. Another meteor in the same area last October caused a loud sonic
boom.
In Cuba, a reporter on the video said a similar phenomenon
was observed in 1994 elsewhere in Cienfuegos province.
It said Cuban authorities were looking for any fragments
that may have fallen to the earth.
- AP
