Meteor strike injures hundreds in central Russia
Baku, February 15 (AZERTAC). A hail of meteorite fragments has injured hundreds of people in central Russia, health officials confirmed on Friday, RIA-novosti reports.
As of mid-day Moscow time, as many as 725 people had sought medical assistance in the hard-hit Chelyabinsk Region as a result of the strikes, including up to 159 children, various officials said. Figures on hospitalization in the region varied significantly, from 34 to 112, with several reported to be in "grave" condition. Most people were hurt by shattering glass.
President Vladimir Putin ordered emergencies officials to provide "immediate" assistance to people affected by the meteorite. Gas supplies were cut off to hundreds of homes in the Chelyabinsk region as a safety precaution and some 3,000 buildings were reported to have been damaged. An estimated 20,000 emergency response workers have been mobilized.
Background radiation levels reportedly remain unchanged. This was confirmed both by emergencies officials, and by the national nuclear agency, concerned because the area has a fair number of nuclear facilities.
Reports about whether this was one large meteorite or many smaller ones initially varied, but the national space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed by early afternoon that the object had been a single meteorite, a report given earlier by emergency officials.
“Verified information indicates that this was one meteorite which burned up as it approached Earth and disintegrated into smaller pieces,” deputy head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry press office, Elena Smirnykh, said.
Roscosmos stated the meteorite had been moving at a speed of 30 km per second.
"All the city`s residents saw blinding flashes, very bright ones," a teacher in the Chelyabinsk Region told RIA Novosti. "Suddenly, it was very, very horribly bright. Not like the lights got turned on, but as if everything was illuminated with unusual white light."
Officials are trying to determine where the fragments have landed.
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