HOLE-Y MOLEY! A crater said to have been left in the ice by a meteorite yesterday in the Chelyabinsk region. (Reuters)
HOT STREAK: A flaming meteor rips across the Russian sky yesterday in footage recorded in Kazakhstan. (
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A meteor exploded into a blinding fireball above Russia yesterday with the force of 20 atomic bombs — striking fear into the hearts of residents convinced the world was ending.
The 7,700-ton space rock, about the size of a city bus, whizzed by the Ural Mountains at 33,000 mph — beyond hypersonic speed.
The shock wave injured at least 1,200 people, shuttered schools and offices and took chunks out of thousands of buildings.
The vast majority of the injuries came as terrified Russians ran to their windows to catch a glimpse of the long streak of smoke and white light — only to see the glass explode in their faces.
NASA scientists said the flash of light was “brighter than the sun.”
“There was panic. People had no idea what was happening,” said Sergey Hametov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, a city of 1 million, where the rock touched down.
“We saw a big burst of light, then went outside to see what it was, and we heard a really loud, thundering sound.”
One man said his face was sliced by the blast.
“The window glass shattered, bouncing back on me,” said Marat Lobkovsky. “My beard was cut open, but not deep. They patched me up. It’s OK now.”
Most of the injuries were minor, but panic was widespread — old ladies ran screaming, saying the end times had come.
The sonic blast happened 32 miles above Earth and was visible from Western Serbia to Russia.
Its trajectory was north to south, meaning it likely passed over the North Pole before landing, NASA said.
Russian army units found meteor debris in a 40-mile radius, with one rock blasting a hole into an ice lake and another tearing down the wall of a zinc factory.
It’s the largest meteor to enter the Earth’s atmosphere since 1908 — and nearly five times as big as the one that whizzed by Indonesia yesterday.
NASA scientists said the events were unrelated, a cosmic coincidence.
“What an amazing day — by an incredible coincidence, we have two rare events happening in the same day,” NASA expert Paul Choda marveled.
He said the agency had been unable to warn Russians about the meteor because it approached Earth during daylight hours, when telescopes can’t pick it up.
Some Russians tried to cash in on the galactic phenomena, selling meteor fragments on Avito.ru for $16, the Russian Times reported.
Other Russians turned to political satire, Photoshopping an image of President Vladmir Putin riding the cosmic streak shirtless.
Russians living in New York scrambled to get in touch with family.
Alex Kharitonov, 38, whose grandmother lives in the blast range, was worried.
“I called her as soon as I heard about the meteor,” he said. “She’s OK, but it was scary.”