- LIMA (AFP) - Villagers in
southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made
a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.
-
- Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an
explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing
near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno
in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.
-
- Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought
on by a "strange odor," local health department official Jorge
Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.
-
- Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also
became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized, Lopez
said.
-
- 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, said local official Marco Limache.
-
- "Boiling water started coming out of the crater
and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby. Residents are very
concerned," he said.
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