Mon Sep 17, 11:23 PM ET
LIMA (AFP) - Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious
illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their
area, regional authorities said Monday.
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Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and
a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near
their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno
in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.
Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a
"strange odor," local health department official Jorge Lopez told
Peruvian radio RPP.
Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill
and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized, Lopez
said.
Rescue teams and experts were dispatched to the scene, where the
meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep
(six-meter-deep) crater, said local official Marco Limache.
"Boiling water started coming out of the crater and particles of
rock and cinders were found nearby. Residents are very concerned,"
he said.
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070918/sc_afp/peruhealthoffbeat
