[meteorite-list] Meteorite Injures Eight In India

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:30:01 2004
Message-ID: <200309281742.KAA18898_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_393852,000900030010.htm

Meteorite injures eight in Orissa
Indo-Asian News Service
September 28, 2003
 
Parts of a meteorite falling from the sky have injured eight people in Orissa.

The meteorite appeared on the sky at about 6.30 pm on Saturday, lighting up
several coastal districts, people who witnessed the event claimed.

It lasted about six seconds and was also visible in the state capital.

Two bits of debris fell in front of a thatched house in Sudusudia village
in Mayurbhanj district and another on the house of a villager, burning it
to ashes, police officials said on Sunday.

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http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-12805112,00.html
 
METEORITE HURTS FIVE
Sky News (United Kingdom)
September 28, 2003

Five people were injured and two houses gutted when a meteorite crashed
to earth in eastern India.

The meteorite crashed into a a remote village near the Bay of Bengal in
the state of Orissa on Saturday, local media said.

Five people were sent to hospital with injuries.

The provincial revenue minister, Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, said authorities
were waiting for more information about damages or casualties.

The meteorite lit up the sky and caused windows to rattle as it passed
overhead, sending hundreds of people rushing outside unsure what was
happening, a resident of Kendrapara town said.

"It was all there for just a few seconds but it was like daylight
everywhere," he said.

Scientists plan to study the remains of the meteorite.

"Such celestial occurrences are common in space but not visible to the
naked eye. This is a rare phenomenon in this region," said Jaydev Kar, a
scientist at the Pathani Samant Planetarium in Orissa's capital Bhubaneswar.

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http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/28/india.meteorite/

Meteorite strikes Indian village
CNN
September 28, 2003
 
BHUBANESWAR, India -- Two people have been injured and several homes
badly damaged by a suspected meteorite crashing into a village in eastern
India, reports said Sunday.

The fiery object crashed to earth shortly after sunset Saturday in the
coastal state of Orissa, the Press Trust of India reported.

Witnesses reported a bright fireball briefly lighting up the night sky and
causing panic among local residents, the PTI report said.

Reports from several districts described an ear spitting noise that shattered
several windows as the object sped overhead.

At least one part of the fireball came down in a village in Mayurbhanj
district, setting several homes alight and lightly injuring at least two
people.

The report said other parts of the suspected meteorite may have crashed into
another village, also setting at least one thatched house ablaze.

Officials in the area have been asked to collect any remaining samples of
the object for scientific analysis.

The PTI quoted local meteorological and space experts as saying the object
was most likely a meteor.

Hundreds of small objects strike the Earth's atmosphere every day, creating
what are commonly known as shooting stars or, more properly, meteors.

However, all but a few burn up or explode well before they hit the ground as
a result of the friction caused by entering the Earth's atmosphere at speeds
in excess of 10,000 kilometers an hour.

Those few rocks that do survive the fiery journey are known as meteorites.
Received on Sun 28 Sep 2003 01:42:28 PM PDT