‘It was like a scene from the Armageddon movie': More than 400 people injured, buildings smashed and Russian mobile network wiped out as meteorite shower causes widespread

A meteor crashing in the Urals of central Russia has reportedly injured at least 400 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings.

Most of those hurt suffered minor cuts and bruises but some received head injuries, Russian media report.

A fireball was seen streaking through the sky above the city of Yekaterinburg, followed by loud bangs.

The meteor is believed to have landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a town in the neighbouring Chelyabinsk region.

Much of the impact was felt in the city of Chelyabinsk, some 200km (125 miles) south of Yekaterinburg.

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It suddenly became as bright as if it was day”

Viktor Prokofiev
Yekaterinburg resident
“We saw a big burst of light, then went outside to see what it was and we heard a really loud thundering sound,” Chelyabinsk resident Sergey Hametov told AP news agency by phone.

Officials say a large meteor partially burned up in the lower atmosphere, resulting in fragments falling earthwards.

Thousands of rescue workers have been dispatched to the area to provide help to the injured, the emergencies ministry said.

The Chelyabinsk region, about 1,500km (930 miles) east of Moscow, is home to many factories, a nuclear power plant and the Mayak atomic waste storage and treatment centre.

‘Blinding’

Elena Gorshkova sent BBC News this image of the meteor above Yekaterinburg
A loud noise, resembling an explosion, resounded through Chelyabinsk at around 09:20 (05:20 GMT).

“There was panic,” Mr Hametov said.

“People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to people’s houses to check if they were okay.”

Andrei, another local resident who did not give his second name, told Reuters he had been standing at a bus stop, seeing off his girlfriend.

“Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shockwave that smashed windows,” he said.

Shockwaves were felt in a 19-storey building in the city centre, another witness said.

A roof at a zinc factory in Chelyabinsk also collapsed; however, it appears nobody was hurt in that incident.

In Yekaterinburg, 36-year-old resident Viktor Prokofiev was driving to work when he witnessed the event.

“It was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it was day,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

“I felt like I was blinded by headlights.”

Debris also reportedly fell on the west Siberian region of Tyumen.

The governor of Chelyabinsk region, Mikhail Yurevich, reported that the meteor had landed in a lake 1km outside Chebarkul, which has a population of 46,000.

Chelyabinsk city authorities said an initial blast had been heard at an altitude of 10,000m (32,800ft), suggesting it occurred when the meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere, Reuters reports.

Such meteor falls are rare but one is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250m) in Siberia in 1908.

That event smashed windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.

Reuters witness said.

A powerful blast rocked the Russian region of the Urals early on Friday with bright objects, identified as possible meteorites, falling from the sky, emergency officials said.
“It was definitely not a plane,” an emergency official told Reuters, without elaborating. “We are gathering the bits of information and have no data on the casualties so far.”
No one was hurt in a meteor shower, an emergency official told RIA-Novosti. Local residents said they witnessed burning objects in the sky of the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions.
A Reuters witness in Chelyabinsk reported hearing a huge blast early in the morning and feeling a shockwave in a 19-storey building in the town center.
The sounds of car alarms and breaking windows could be heard in the area, the witness said, and mobile phones were working intermittently.
“Preliminary indications are that it was a meteorite rain,” an emergency official told RIA-Novosti. “We have information about a blast at 10,000-meter (32,800-foot) altitude. It is being verified.”
The trace from a falling object could be seen in Yekaterinburg, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Chelyabinsk, another