14 DAY TRIAL // As reported, this Friday morning Russia's Chelyabinsk region was hit by a meteorite that caused several explosions to occur. New information says that, all in all, roughly 400 people were injured as a result of this incident and had to seek medical attention.
However, none of them suffered any major injuries, meaning that they only experienced lacerations caused by shards of glass and some concussions.
RT reports that, according to a local newspaper, the meteorite was intercepted by the country's military forces, who used a missile in order to blow it into smithereens at an altitude of about 20 kilometers (roughly 12.5 miles), thus avoiding a catastrophic impact.
By the looks of it, as many as 20,000 rescue workers have been sent to this part of the country, their mission being that of evacuating whatever buildings have been affected by the explosions that took place when the meteorite's bits and pieces hit the ground.
However, the Chelyabinsk region's governor urged locals not to lose their calm. “Do not panic, this is an ordinary situation we can manage in a couple of days,” he reportedly told people.
Luckily, the Mayak nuclear complex, located fairly close to where the meteorite hit, was not in any way affected.
Still, the incident did take its toll on telecommunication systems, meaning that local mobile services are now out of order, Daily Mail reports.
Furthermore, a local zinc factory witnessed both part of its roof (an area of roughly 6,000 square feet / 557 square meters, to be more precise) and some of its walls collapse.
The meteorite fell about 900 miles (1448.4 kilometers) east of Moscow, close to the Kazakhstan border at about 9.20am local time, when eyewitnesses supposedly saw a large object flashing across the sky.
“I saw a bright blast from behind me. Everything was lit up, very bright light. It was like from Armageddon movie when the meteorite rain started, I really thought it was like doomsday. It was so scary especially the explosion. It was very strong. I am speechless. It was so strong,” Gulnara Dudka, a woman living in the area told members of the press.
Footage of the meteorite fall is made available to you here.