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Meteor shower in Russia injures over 950
February 15, 2013, 10:32 am

[Xinhua]

A TV grab shows the trail of a meteorite falling in the Chelyabinsk Region of Russia. [Xinhua]

Almost 950 people were injured when fragments from what Russia’s emergencies ministries says was a single meteorite streaked across central Russia.

Most people were hurt by shattering glass and five people have been hospitalised, with the condition of three of them described as “grave” by an interior ministry spokesman.

At least six cities have been hit by falling pieces of the meteorite.

The city of Chelyabinsk was hit worst – windows of dozens of hospitals, schools and universities were shattered.

Around 950 people have sought medical attention in Chelyabinsk alone because of the disaster, the region’s governor Mikhail Yurevich told Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Witnesses say they heard several blasts in the air and burning particles started to fall on them.

Mobile networks stopped working and authorities started partial evacuations.

The Ural region where the particles of the meteorite fell is known for its numerous nuclear facilities, including Russia’s largest nuclear fuel-processing plant, raising fears of nuclear contamination.

However, Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom said its facilities are working normally.

“All of Rosatom’s facilities in the Urals are working normally. They have suffered no consequences from the meteorite’s fall,” Rosatom’s statement says.

Chelyabinsk region’s governor said the meteorite fell into a lake.

“The meteorite that passed over the Chelyabinsk region fell into a body of water 1 kilometre away from the city of Chebarkul,” he said.

Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has confirmed the meteorite fall and said it “was moving at around 30 kilometres per second at a low trajectory.”

The meteorite was not debris from the 2012 DA14 asteroid which is due to pass close to the Earth later the same day, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

The agency’s experts confirmed there is no link between the meteorite and the asteroid, ESA said on its official Twitter, but provided no details of its analysis.

According to the videos uploaded to the internet, the blast happened at the height of 43—47 kilometres.

Daria Chernyshova