Peru 'meteorite' strike leaves 200 sick

[Michaelangelica]

Scores of residents of the farming village of Carancas began vomiting and complaining of headaches and dizziness after an apparent meteorite struck the area at the weekend, leaving a crater 8 metres deep and 20 metres wide.

 

"We have determined with precision instruments that there is no radiation," says engineer Renan Ramirez of the Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute.

 

Ramirez says the illnesses may have been triggered by sulfur, arsenic or other toxins that may have melted in the extreme heat produced by the apparent meteorite strike.

News in Science - Peru 'meteorite' strike leaves 200 sick - 19/09/2007

The extreme heat that results from a meteorite strike may cause elements to fuse and releases noxious clouds of gas. Pictured here, Meteor Crater in Arizona, which is over 1 kilometre across and 150 metres deep (Image: NASA, JSC)

[Turtle]

The photo of Berringer crater with the story of the Peru impact is a little offsetting. :hihi: Here's another Hypography thread with links and photos of the Peru event that we have followed. Pieces of the meteorite have now been secured and brought to the US for analysis. >> http://hypography.com/forums/environmental-studies/12843-mystery-meteorite-illness.html