Rare Event: Huge 'Apocalyptic' Meteor Explodes In Siberian Skyline, Turns Night Into Day

A rare event has taken place in Siberia last week. According to Science Alert, a huge fireball exploded across the night sky of the remote Republic of Khakassia, momentarily turning night into day.

The amazing scene was witnessed by thousands of residents, sending some of them into panic. Videos showing the spectacle were uploaded on social media.

"We saw a flash, and in about two minutes our houses vibrated and we heard thunder, and car alarms went off," one witness told Siberian Times.

Another witness said, "I went for a walk with my friends. We stopped by the shop and my friend screamed when she saw a bright flash, and then there was an explosion. All the car alarms immediately went off. We were so scared. My father said windows were vibrating. We think it was a meteor."

Siberian Times reported that the apocalyptic fireball is rather a meteor, which burnt in the atmosphere before reaching the ground. The report added that the meteor was confirmed by the Emergencies Ministry in a statement, but later on, the post was deleted for unknown reasons.

The Reuters quoted city official Leonid Bykov who were speaking in a televised address, "At about 18:37 a flying shining object was seen over the territory of the town followed by a sound of a blast."

"Of course there was an earth shock. To find the cause of it the respective services were alerted. But there is no damage to social facilities or factories of the town of Sayanogorsk."

RT reported that TASS, a news agency had an interview with physicist Viktor Grokhovsky from the Ural Federal University and Natan Eysmont from the Russian Space Research Institute who both gave a brief statement about the meteor.

Grokhovsky said, "[The meteor] was several times smaller than the one over Chelyabinsk, but its fragments may be found. Determining where they landed would require accurate calculation of its path. This may take a day or so."

Eysmont on the other hand commented, "it was probably no more than 10 to 15 meters in diameter, and was made of stone not iron. Such meteors, unless they enter the atmosphere at a very sharp angle, are not dangerous."