Man may have been killed by meteorite in southern India
Odd News
Man may have been killed by meteorite in southern India
Indian scientists are investigating whether a man was killed by a meteorite — which, if confirmed, would be the first recorded death from falling fragments of space rock in almost 200 years. Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, said a bus driver at a college in her state was killed by the meteorite while standing near the cafeteria. Three other people were injured, officials said. Government officials at first suspected the blast was caused by explosives accidentally left after building work. Investigations found no evidence of explosive material at the site, but a dark blue stone resembling a diamond was found at the scene.
When no evidence of explosive material was found, we moved to the theory that it might be a meteorite. … It is not confirmed yet as samples need to be analyzed.
District official who asked not be named
The last reported death from a meteorite strike was in 1825, according to a list kept by International Comet Quarterly, a scientific journal. Simon Goodwin, an astrophysics expert from Britain’s University of Sheffield, said meteorite deaths are rare because the rocks usually burn up when they pass through the Earth’s atmosphere, land in the ocean or hit remote areas.
It was a sound like nothing I’ve ever heard before. … There was no smell at all, no fire — nothing.
G. Baskar, principal of the college in Vellore district
