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Scores ill in Peru 'meteor crash' | Scores ill in Peru 'meteor crash' |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Hundreds of people in Peru have needed treatment after an object from space - said to be a meteorite - plummeted to Earth in a remote area, officials say. | Hundreds of people in Peru have needed treatment after an object from space - said to be a meteorite - plummeted to Earth in a remote area, officials say. |
They say the object left a deep crater after crashing down over the weekend near the town of Carancas in the Andes. | They say the object left a deep crater after crashing down over the weekend near the town of Carancas in the Andes. |
People who have visited scene have been complaining of headaches, vomiting and nausea after inhaling gases. | People who have visited scene have been complaining of headaches, vomiting and nausea after inhaling gases. |
A team of scientists is on its way to the site to collect samples and verify whether it was indeed a meteorite. | A team of scientists is on its way to the site to collect samples and verify whether it was indeed a meteorite. |
Geologists have called on the authorities to stop people going near the crash site. | |
Afraid | |
Local resident Heber Mamani said a bull and some other animals had become ill. | |
"That is why we are asking for an analysis, because we are worried for our people. They are afraid," he said. | |
Another local villager, Romulo Quispe, said people were worried that the water was no longer safe to drink. | |
"This is the water we use for the animals, and for us, for everyone, and it looks like it is contaminated," he said. | |
"We don't know what is going on at the moment, that is what we are worried about." | |
The incident began on Saturday night, when people near Carancas in the remote Puno region, some 1,300km (800 miles) south of Lima, reported seeing a fireball in the sky coming towards them. | |
The object then hit the ground, leaving a 30m (98ft) wide and 6m (20ft) deep crater. | The object then hit the ground, leaving a 30m (98ft) wide and 6m (20ft) deep crater. |
The crater spewed what officials described as fetid, noxious gases. | The crater spewed what officials described as fetid, noxious gases. |
Jorge Lopez, a health director in Puno, told Reuters news agency that he got an irritated throat and itchy nose after visiting the site. | |
A local journalist, Martine Hanlon, told the BBC that experts did not believe the meteor would make anybody sick, but they did think that a chemical reaction caused by its contact with the ground could release toxins such as sulphur and arsenic. | |
An engineer from the Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute told AFP news agency no radiation had been detected from the crater and ruled out the fallen object being a satellite. | |