An Indian Man Was Killed By A Meteorite: Local Government
Scientists are investigating the first ever suspected meteorite death after an object fell from the sky, killing a bus driver in south India.
A bus driver in India was killed, and three others injured on Feb. 6 in an explosion created by an object – that local officials said was a meteorite falling from the sky.
Indian authorities inspect the site of a suspected meteorite landing on Feb. 7 in the southern Tamil Nadu state of India.
Str / AFP / Getty Images
Kamaraj, 40, a bus driver at an engineering college in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, could be the first person ever to be killed by a meteorite if the local government's claims are proven.
On Sunday, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha, issued a press release offering the victim's family ₹ 1,00,000 ($1,470). "A mishap occurred yesterday when a meteorite fell in the campus of a private engineering college in Vellore district's K Pantharappalli village...," Jayalalitha said in the press release, according to an English translation by The Hindu.
Two gardeners and a student who were injured in the explosion also received funds for their treatment, the press release said
The object falling from the sky made a loud noise and the blast left behind a crater around two feet deep. It also shattered the window panes of classrooms in a nearby building and killed Kamaraj who was walking nearby, according to local reports.
Str / AFP / Getty Images