Meteor showers in Russia injure 1,200

An unprecedented meteor shower struck Russia's Ural city of Chelyabinsk yesterday morning causing widespread panic among the inhabitants of the region and resulting in injuries to around 1,200 people including 200 children.

The explosion caused damage to around 3,000 residential buildings, South Ural University building, a zinc plant, an ice hockey stadium and power supply lines in Chelyabinsk, a city of 1.1 million population.

The majority of the injuries were not considered serious but about 34 to 112 people have been reported to have been hospitalised and the condition of two are believed to be serious, according to Ria Novosti.

Most of the people were hurt due to broken glass, which shattered following two explosions emitting blinding flashes that occurred 30-50 km above the ground.

According to Russia's national space agency Ruscosmos, the object that caused the damage had been a single meteorite moving at a speed of 30 km per second, which burned up as it approached the earth and disintegrated into smaller pieces.

"All the city's residents saw blinding flashes, very bright ones… suddenly it was very, very horribly bright. Not like the lights got turned on, but as if everything was illuminated with unusual white light," an eye witness said.