The damage done by a suspected meteorite in Inida | Image | Twitter
An unlucky Indian man is believed to have become the first person ever to be killed by a falling meteorite, despite the odds of such an incident being one in 700,000.
The suspected meteorite landed on the grounds of an Indian college in Tamil Nadu on Saturday and left a four-feet deep crater.
Three gardeners were also injured in the explosion, which shattered nearby windows.
Images claiming to show a piece of the meteorite as well as damage sustained by a nearby building have been posted on social media.
Image | Twitter
Image | Twitter
Investigators initially suspected the damage was caused by a terror attack, but were unable to find evidence of any explosives and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa later declared the death was caused by a meteorite.
But some scientists are sceptical the death was caused by a meteorite.
Dr Marco Langbroek whose Twitter profile introduces him as a Palaeolithic archaeologist, tweeted to say he didn’t think the story added up.
And local scientists are yet to confirm a meteorite was the cause of death despite the chief minister’s’ statement, reports the Hindustan Times.
To date there are no recorded deaths by meteorites, and astronomer Alan Harris has put the odds of such a fate at 1 in 700,000.
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