Man 'killed by meteorite' could be first victim ever recorded



LONDON: -- A bus driver in India has become the first recorded victim of a meteorite strike, according to the local government.

Authorities in the southern state of Tamil Nadu said 40-year-old V Kamaraj was washing outside when a large blast struck.

Having ruled out explosives and other possible causes, they concluded that a large blackened rock nearby had fallen from space and killed him.

Scientists are cautious, pointing out that the chances of anyone being hit by an asteroid are astronomically small. The rock is being tested.

Previously reported incidents have seen a dog and a cow killed by falling asteroids.

Generally asteroids up to 10 metres across are destroyed in the atmosphere, although fragments can, and do, still fall to earth.

Larger rocks pose a significant risk to cities and even entire populations and so are carefully monitored as they pass through space.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-02-09

Scientists are cautious, pointing out that the chances of anyone being hit by an asteroid are astronomically small.

Oh, very droll.

I can see the BiB making full use of that the next time an unexplained death lands in their intray

Edited February 9, 201610 yr by evadgib

I bet he didn't see that coming...

"Scientists are cautious, pointing out that the chances of anyone being hit by an asteroid are astronomically small."

Clever if intentional but incorrect. Astronomical numbers are always very large. Should be "The odds against being hit by a meteorite are astronomical".

Sorry for the unlucky Indian bus driver but at least he made a contribution to society through his demise.

Now it can also be said that in the history of the planet, more people have died by being hit by a meteorite than have died from using cannabis.

There are so many people in India you would think that this would every week. Either a cow or a person getting hit !

It happens a lot in Koh Tao but in order for it not to cause alarm the local police disguise the deaths as murders.

I wonder what the odds are on this. Must be much higher than the millions to 1 that one gets upon buying a lottery ticket.

If it is a meteorite it will be worth Millions !!!

They should give it to the family.

I wonder what the odds are on this. Must be much higher than the millions to 1 that one gets upon buying a lottery ticket.

get his birth date, quick !!

now a meteorite knocking someone off their 23rd floor balcony will be common place in Bangkok I am afraid ............

If it is a meteorite it will be worth Millions !!!

They should give it to the family.

Maybe 100K baht, but no way it "worth millions."

He may be the first man killed, but there are a whole lot of dinosaurs who know how deadly those things can be.

He may be the first man killed, but there are a whole lot of dinosaurs who know how deadly those things can be.

They weren't killed because of being hit by meteorites.

A commonly accepted theory is that they became extinct due to the massive climate changes caused by a very large asteroid hitting the Earth.

He may be the first man killed, but there are a whole lot of dinosaurs who know how deadly those things can be.

They weren't killed because of being hit by meteorites.

A commonly accepted theory is that they became extinct due to the massive climate changes caused by a very large asteroid hitting the Earth.

picky, picky, picky!

The Chinese did record a case of a large group of people in city or an army on the move being hit by thousands of stones falling out of the clear sky, with no enemy in sight. The stones killed quite a number of people, injuring many more. The stones were all black... (fusion crust)

At least three surviving Chinese historical records describe a shower during which "stones fell like rain", killing more than 10,000 people. At least one report of the event is found in the official History of the Ming Dynasty, and other journal records which describe the event are also generally considered reliable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1490_Ch%27ing-yang_event

"Stones fell like rain in the Ch’ing-yang district. The larger ones were 4 to 5 catties (斤, about 1.5 kg), and the smaller ones were 2 to 3 catties (about 1 kg). Numerous stones rained in Ch'ing-yang. Their sizes were all different. The larger ones were like goose's eggs and the smaller ones were like water-chestnuts. More than 10,000 people were struck dead. All of the people in the city fled to other places."

Yau, K., Weissman, P., & Yeomans, D. Meteorite Falls In China And Some Related Human Casualty Events, Meteoritics, Vol. 29, No. 6, pp. 864-871, ISSN 0026-1114, bibliographic code: 1994Metic..29..864Y.

It's possible that the man in fact was killed by a meteorite. Imagine waking outside and you get creamed by a meteorite. If you survive.. grab the rock. It will be worth a small fortune on the market.

On October 9, 1992, the Peekskill Meteorite (an H6 type meteorite) went through the trunk of girl's car. It weighed 26 lbs.

The meteorite ended up sold to some collectors for $69,000.00

The girl had purchased the old car for $300.00. She sold it for $10,000.00.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peekskill_meteorite

Peekskill meteorite car

.... Thousands of stony meteorites came down in Mexico in 1969, spread over a huge area. At least two tons worth.. (The Allende CV3 Carbonaceous Chondrite meteorite, which had broken up in the atmosphere on entry) It was more or less an isolated area with not many people.

In 1949, a lot of nickel-iron meteorites came down in Sikhote Alin in Russia creating craters from which many meteorites were recovered. Some meteorites were found imbedded in trees... The large singe meteorite had broken up in an atmospheric air burst like the Allende and Murchison meteorites in '69... Although nickel-iron meteorites often make it to the ground intact.

Edited February 9, 201610 yr by Catoni

If it is a meteorite it will be worth Millions !!!

They should give it to the family.

Maybe 100K baht, but no way it "worth millions."

There are a number of factors that determine the value of a particular meteorite on the collectors market, such as the size and the type of meteorite.

Examples: Carbonaceous Chondrites being worth more than most Ordinary Chondrites. Another example, how much of a particular meteorite type there is compared to other types.

Meteorites that are proven to have hit a structure or hit an animal or person are called "Hammer Stones" and worth more for that fact.

Meteorites that were part of the Moon and Mars and got blasted into space by asteroid impacts and made it to Earth are much more rare and valuable, such as NWA 482 and the Zagami Meteorite.

Some very rare types have sold for as much as $1,000.00 - $2,000.00 per gram.

But this one... if it killed somebody... is already worth a hell of a lot of money simply for the fact it hit and killed a person . Weight for weight, it will be already worth more than an equal weight of gold or diamonds.

Yes.... I have a small collection..... with a few very rare types also..

If it is a meteorite it will be worth Millions !!!

They should give it to the family.

Maybe 100K baht, but no way it "worth millions."

Depends on the currency

Baht Dong Kip are just a few

You are rich man

I said they should never have given a big kid like the President that drone button to play with.

Nah. More likely a North Korean rocket test.

I wonder what the odds were when this chap was hit by a rock presumably from outer space and killed .