CHERBARKUL, RUSSIA — A 10-ton meteorite crashing to the earth caused explosions hurting hundreds of people in Russia.
Russian health officials said nearly 1,000 people have sought help for injuries caused by the meteor.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is ordering aid to be sent to the region affected. Officials believe the space rock landed in a lake near Chebarkul.
The meteorite, a blinding light streaking across the sky, was captured on car dashboard cameras and phones.
It's the video everyone is talking about...where a meteorite burst into the atmosphere and exploded
On the ground, chaos ensued, as more fragments slammed into the ground.
The blast shattered windows and knocked down a wall at a zinc factory.
Officials said over 250 people near the factory were injured from broken glass.
About 20,000 troops have been sent to the scene as well as three aircraft which are surveying the damage from the sky.
Scientists said the meteor shower was not related to an asteroid that will fly dangerously close to Earth Friday, but one estimate suggested the meteor was perhaps tens of tons.
The Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement hours after the Friday morning fall that the meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of at least 54,000 kph (33,000 mph) and shattered about 30-50 kilometers (18-32 miles) above ground.
Scientists say the asteroid that is expected to buzz Earth is about 150-foot in diameter.
The asteroid is expected to make the closest known flyby for a rock of its size, missing Earth by 17,150 miles.
But that's the closer than many communications and weather satellites.
The asteroid will be too small to see with the naked eye. The best viewing locations, with binoculars and telescopes, will be in Asia, Australia and Eastern Europe.
As asteroids go, this one is a shrimp. The one that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was six miles across.
But, experts say, this rock could still pack a wallop, wiping out 750 square miles if it struck.
WSOCTV.com has put together a five minute compilation video of the Russian meteorite caught on camera by several different people. Watch that video here.
Also, the Planetary Society has posted a roundup of videos of the meteorite caught on camera here.
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