Radiation levels from meteorite in Latvia 'within norm'
26/10/200915:44
RIGA, October 26 (RIA Novosti) - Radiation levels from a meteorite that fell to earth near a small town in northern Latvia are "within the norm," the Latvian Radiation Center said on Monday.
According to media reports, the meteorite fell near a residential house on the outskirts of Mazsalaca town in the Valmiera district of Latvia near the Estonian border, leaving a crater of some 20 meters (66 feet) in diameter and 10 meters (33 feet) deep.
"Radiation in the area of the 'heavenly body' impact site is within the norm," the Radiation Center told RIA Novosti.
A spokesperson for the Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service said earlier on Monday that rescuers and soldiers had immediately cordoned off the territory; however, it was still not clear whether it was an asteroid or a space satellite that struck the ground.
A witness, who saw the object falling from the sky and leaving a burning trace behind, said it was making a noise similar to the one of an aircraft flying at a low altitude.
On March 2 this year, a 35-meter asteroid came within 72,000 kilometers of Earth. The size of the space rock was comparable to the asteroid that caused the Tunguska disaster, but there was no danger of a collision.
On June 30, 1908, an explosion equivalent to between 5 and 30 megatons of TNT occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in a remote region of Russia's Siberia.
The Tunguska blast flattened 80 million trees, destroying an area of around 2,150 sq km (830 sq miles).
It is assumed that a huge meteorite had hit the area, although research expeditions failed to find an obvious crater.
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