Mystery 'space debris' falls from space in three Gujarat villages

Locals in villages of Anand district in Gujarat rushed out of their homes as fragments of suspected debris from space fell in three locations including Bhalej, Khambholaj, and Rampura. The incident happened on Thursday, 12 May when the villagers heard a loud thud that shook the ground. They witnessed ‘meteorite’ like objects that crashed onto the ground as they fell from space. As per a report by The Indian Express, the metal ball is believed to be satellite debris. Anand district SP Ajit Rajiaan said that the first ball fell around 4.45 pm, and shortly after that, there were similar incidents reported from two other locations. However, no casualty has been reported. The officials informed that the debris landed away from a house in Khambholaj while in the other two places, it had fallen in an open area. They were not sure about the kind of space debris this was but it had fallen from the sky as was informed by the villagers. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) experts were called to begin a probe on the metal ball. Three different teams have been sent to Khmabholaj, Bhalej, and Rampura. Rajiaan said that they initially did not know what the objects were and a crowd had already gathered at the three spots but it seemed they were the ball bearings that were used to maintain the momentum of a satellite in space in absence of gravity. According to reports, a similar incident had happened in Maharashtra in April this year after a purported “meteorite” was seen in the sky. The noise sounded like an aeroplane and was followed by a big explosion. Later it was found that the burnt objects were fragments of a satellite launched in New Zealand. Similar incidents were reported in January 2016 in Yen Bai in Vietnam, Spain, Australia, Africa, and Turkey.