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| Russia sends clean-up team to meteorite-hit Urals | Russia sends clean-up team to meteorite-hit Urals |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A big rescue and clean-up operation involving up to 20,000 workers is going on in the Ural mountains following Friday's meteor strike, Russia's emergency ministry says. | |
| President Vladimir Putin ordered the operation to help some 1,200 people who were injured, including 200 children, mostly by shattered glass. | President Vladimir Putin ordered the operation to help some 1,200 people who were injured, including 200 children, mostly by shattered glass. |
| The shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings around Chelyabinsk. | The shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings around Chelyabinsk. |
| A fireball streaked through the clear morning sky, followed by loud bangs. | A fireball streaked through the clear morning sky, followed by loud bangs. |
| A large meteorite landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a town in Chelyabinsk region, and Friday morning's dramatic passage was witnessed hundreds of kilometres away. | A large meteorite landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a town in Chelyabinsk region, and Friday morning's dramatic passage was witnessed hundreds of kilometres away. |
| Small atomic weapon | Small atomic weapon |
| Mr Putin said he thanked God that no big fragments of the 10-tonne meteor - which was thought to be made of iron and travelling at some 30 km (19 miles) per second - had fallen in populated areas. | Mr Putin said he thanked God that no big fragments of the 10-tonne meteor - which was thought to be made of iron and travelling at some 30 km (19 miles) per second - had fallen in populated areas. |
| It had entered the Earth's atmosphere and broke apart 30-50 km (20-30 miles) above ground, according to Russia's Academy of Sciences, releasing several kilotonnes of energy - the equivalent of a small atomic weapon. | It had entered the Earth's atmosphere and broke apart 30-50 km (20-30 miles) above ground, according to Russia's Academy of Sciences, releasing several kilotonnes of energy - the equivalent of a small atomic weapon. |
| The Emergencies Ministry urged calm, saying background radiation levels were normal after what it described as a "meteorite shower in the form of fireballs". | The Emergencies Ministry urged calm, saying background radiation levels were normal after what it described as a "meteorite shower in the form of fireballs". |
| "The explosion was so strong that some windows in our building and in the buildings that are across the road and in the city in general, the windows broke," Chelyabinsk resident Polina Zolotarevskaya told BBC News. | "The explosion was so strong that some windows in our building and in the buildings that are across the road and in the city in general, the windows broke," Chelyabinsk resident Polina Zolotarevskaya told BBC News. |
| The Chelyabinsk region, about 1,500km east of Moscow, is home to many factories, a nuclear power plant and the Mayak atomic waste storage and treatment centre. | The Chelyabinsk region, about 1,500km east of Moscow, is home to many factories, a nuclear power plant and the Mayak atomic waste storage and treatment centre. |
| Little explosions | Little explosions |
| Many children were at lessons when the meteor fell at around 09:20 (03:20 GMT). | Many children were at lessons when the meteor fell at around 09:20 (03:20 GMT). |
| Video posted online showed frightened, screaming youngsters at one Chelyabinsk school, where corridors were littered with broken glass. | Video posted online showed frightened, screaming youngsters at one Chelyabinsk school, where corridors were littered with broken glass. |
| Chelyabinsk resident Sergei Serskov told BBC News the city had felt like a "war zone" for 20 to 30 minutes. | Chelyabinsk resident Sergei Serskov told BBC News the city had felt like a "war zone" for 20 to 30 minutes. |
| "I was in the office when suddenly I saw a really bright flash in the window in front of me," he said. | "I was in the office when suddenly I saw a really bright flash in the window in front of me," he said. |
| "Then I smelt fumes. I looked out the window and saw a huge line of smoke, like you get from a plane but many times bigger." | "Then I smelt fumes. I looked out the window and saw a huge line of smoke, like you get from a plane but many times bigger." |
| "A few minutes later the window suddenly came open and there was a huge explosion, followed by lots of little explosions." | "A few minutes later the window suddenly came open and there was a huge explosion, followed by lots of little explosions." |
| Debris also reportedly fell on the west Siberian region of Tyumen. | Debris also reportedly fell on the west Siberian region of Tyumen. |
| Governor Yurevich reported that a meteorite had landed in a lake 1km outside Chebarkul, which has a population of 46,000. | Governor Yurevich reported that a meteorite had landed in a lake 1km outside Chebarkul, which has a population of 46,000. |
| A Russian army spokesman said a crater 6m (20ft) wide had been found on the shore of the lake. | A Russian army spokesman said a crater 6m (20ft) wide had been found on the shore of the lake. |
| Scientists have played down suggestions that there is any link between the event in the Urals and 2012 DA14, an asteroid which raced past the Earth later on Friday at a distance of just 27,700km (17,200 miles) - the closest ever for an object of that size. | Scientists have played down suggestions that there is any link between the event in the Urals and 2012 DA14, an asteroid which raced past the Earth later on Friday at a distance of just 27,700km (17,200 miles) - the closest ever for an object of that size. |
| Such meteor strikes are rare in Russia but one is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (770 sq m) in Siberia in 1908. | Such meteor strikes are rare in Russia but one is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (770 sq m) in Siberia in 1908. |