[meteorite-list] Meteor Causes Panic In India

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:30:01 2004
Message-ID: <200309280710.AAA09312_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Meteor causes panic in Orissa
Chandigarh Tribune (India)
September 27, 2003

Bhubaneswar - Night turned into day for a few seconds as a huge ball of fire,
believed to be a meteor, streaked across the sky in coastal Orissa causing
panic among the people today. Official sources, admitting the occurrence of
the phenomenon, said collectors of all districts where the fireball was sighted
had been asked to report to the government about it.

Remnants of the fireball had landed in a village under the Kaptipada police
station in Mayurbhanj district starting a fire there, Revenue minister
Biswabhushan Harichandan said quoting official reports. "We have asked the
collectors to report about the matter", he said.

Panic-stricken people in at least 11 Orissa districts saw the fireball
streak across the sky as the darkness was completely dispelled for a few
seconds at around 6.30 pm. Reports from Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur
and Mayurbhanj districts said the phenomenon was accompanied by
ear-splitting noise which even shattered the doors and windows. The other
districts which reported the sighting were Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh,
Angul, Bhadrak and Balasore. People on the streets of the capital city
(Bhubaneswar) here saw the flash of light for a second or two but there was
no noise.

Meteological Department sources said it could be a meteor which had landed
somewhere in the state. Dr Prahallad Chandra Nayak, former director of the
Pathani Samanta Planetarium here, also agreed saying that it was a shooting
star.

A report from Baripada said people saw two fireballs landing in Sudsudia
village under the Kaptipada police station setting ablaze a thatched house.
Two women received injuries following the incident while another person
present nearby fell unconscious. They were being treated at the local
hospital.

The authorities were investigating reports that remnants of the meteor had
landed in Jagatsinghpur district. A report from Kendrapara said three
persons, including a woman, from different villages in the district had been
admitted into the district headquarter hospital after falling unconscious as
they witnessed the rare occurrence.
Received on Sun 28 Sep 2003 03:10:57 AM PDT