Thai meteorite: Huge fireball lights up sky over Bangkok (VIDEO)
A massive fireball, believed to be a meteorite, has fallen on Thailand. Awestruck commuters witnessed the spectacle, describing a green and orange glow, as it took a nosedive toward Earth.
The event took place during the morning rush hour at about 8:45am local time in Bangkok, although the meteor did not make an audible sound as it struck the ground.
The size of the fireball is judged to be quite substantial, as residents of the Sisawat district in Kanchanaburi province, some 200km from the capital, also described seeing the meteorite. They say they also heard a thunderous explosion, according to Thai PBS.
Some even reported hearing two explosions, so a team of rescue workers was dispatched to where the crash site was assumed to be.
Although something of this magnitude can potentially fill people with a mixture of awe and dread, a meteorologist interviewed on local radio says things like that are not a major event, and happen all the time. He admitted, however, that this was not a small meteorite by any measure.
All aviation-related services quickly dispelled suspicions it might have been some sort of air catastrophe; no aircraft were in the area.
YouTube videos began emerging almost immediately.
Events of this sort do take place occasionally, and without warning, as the Russians found out two years ago.
Russians in the Chelyabinsk region are still a little shaken from the devastating event. No one saw the meteor coming – it injured 1,200 people and damaged buildings.
