MORE than 500 people, including 82 children, were injured when a meteor hit Russia early today.
Fragments of the meteor fell in a thinly populated area of the Chelyabinsk region, the emergency ministry said in a statement.
People called for medical assistance following the incident, according to interior ministry spokesman Vadim Kolesnikov, mostly for treatment of injuries from glass broken by the explosions.
Mr Kolsenikov also said about 6,000 square feet of a roof at a zinc factory collapsed.
Watch videos of the meteor strike and its impact below.
Reports conflicted on what happened in the clear skies. A spokeswoman for the emergency ministry, Irina Rossius, said there was a meteor shower, but another ministry spokeswoman, Elena Smirnikh, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying it was a single meteorite.
Amateur video broadcast on Russian television showed an object speeding across the sky about 9.20am local time, leaving a thick white trail and an intense flash.
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