Nearly 1,000 injured as meteor falls in Russia
Published February 15, 2013
Associated Press
Fire in the sky: Nearly 1,000 injured as meteor falls in Russia
A 10-ton meteor streaked at supersonic speed over Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday, setting off blasts that injured nearly 1,000 people and frightened countless more.
A Russian health official says nearly 1,000 people have sought help for injuries after a meteor streaked through the sky and exploded Friday over Russia's Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb.
The sonic blast from the hurtling space rock shattered countless windows and deeply frightened thousands, with some elderly women declaring the world was coming to an end.
The meteor -- estimated to be about 10 tons -- entered the Earth's atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of at least 33,000 mph and shattered about 18-32 miles above the ground, the Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement. It released the energy of several kilotons above the Chelyabinsk region, the academy said.
Chelyabinsk health chief Marina Moskvicheva, said Friday that 985 people in her city had asked for medical assistance. The Interfax news agency quoted her as saying 43 were hospitalized.
Amateur video broadcast on Russian television showed an object speeding across the sky about 9:20 a.m. local time, just after sunrise, leaving a thick white contrail and an intense flash.
'We saw a big burst of light then went outside to see what it was and we heard a really loud thundering sound.'
- Eyewitness Sergey Hametov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, the biggest city in the affected region
"There was panic. People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to people's houses to check if they were OK," said Sergey Hametov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, a city of 1 million about 930 miles east of Moscow.
"We saw a big burst of light, then went outside to see what it was and we heard a really loud thundering sound," he told The Associated Press by telephone.
The explosions broke more than 1 million square feet of glass, city officials said.
It was not immediately clear if any people were struck by space fragments.
and in 1908 the big one hit
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/02/15/russian-meteor-blast-recalls-massive-108-tunguska-event/
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Nearly 1,000 injured as meteor falls in Russia | Fox News