Peruvian villagers become sick after meteor strike
Villagers in Southern Peru became sick with a mystery illness last Saturday after a meteor struck nearby. The villagers complained of headaches and vomiting caused by a strange odor. Several police officers also became sick while investigating the impact. Rescue teams and experts were dispatched to the scene, where the meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep (six-meter-deep) crater.
One can not help but think of Michael Crichton’s Andromeda Strain.
UPDATE
An engineer from the Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute told the AFP news agency no radiation had been detected from the crater and ruled out the fallen object being a satellite.
Renan Ramirez said: “It is a conventional meteorite that, when it struck, produced gases by fusing with elements of the terrain.”
The gases are believed to have affected the health of about 600 people who visited the site.
September 18th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Uh, yeah. We’re all gonna die, aren’t we?
September 18th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Yah that smell was so… strange but what was even stranger was the color. I mean I couldnt say to this day precisely what color that meteor had.
Want a strawberry?
September 18th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
At least that means we might have the option of performing all our bodily shaving routine using high powered lasers…
September 18th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Is there not any real news as to what has happened with this meteor? Has there been any professional opinions regarding the gas, the color, the smell and most important the sickness. If there is any information please let me know where to look.
Thanks
Bob
September 18th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Bob, still no real news, although MSNBC picked up the story and they have a link to some video here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20838944/ - of course it is in streaming Windows Media and I have not been able to get it to work (of course!). I’ll set up a Google alert for this story and post any developments if/when they arise.
September 19th, 2007 at 8:19 am
Somehwere, I lost the link, it was pointed out it that it was petrochemicals (in the area it hit or with it) or pt vapors that are the cause of illness (ie: like breathing gas fumes).