An Indian man may have the grisly honour of being the first person to be killed by an object which has fallen from space.
Identified as a meteorite, the rock reportedly left a four-feet deep crater after it fell into the Bharathdasan Engineering College Campus in the state of Tamil Nadu at 12.30 p.m. on Saturday, Mashable reports.
The impact generated a powerful explosion which injured three gardeners and shattered nearby window panes. Thankfully, the students, who were attending classes at the time, were safe.
Piece of a meteorite found at a private engineering college in Vellore. One person was dead in the explosion. pic.twitter.com/TON5qzIw7N
— J Sam Daniel Stalin (@jsamdaniel) February 7, 2016
Unfortunately, yesterday Tamil Nadu chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, said the impact had caused the death of a man named Kamaraj, who worked as a driver at the College Campus.
Initially, officials investigated the explosion as a possible terror attack, however they were not able to find any explosives.
Windows shattered due to Meteor impact at Naatraampalli, Vellore. Just like russian meteor impact . pic.twitter.com/5ioJdNBV1c
— Prashanth Rangaswamy (@itisprashanth) February 7, 2016
There has never been a recorded death by meteorite in history and, according to a study by astronomer Alan Harris, the odds of being killed by a meteorite are 1 in 700,000 – which technically means you’re still more likely to get hit by a celestial body than win the UK lottery.
Crater formed due to meteor impact at Nattrampalli, vellore. looks like a powerful impact. pic.twitter.com/POlim224pn
— Prashanth Rangaswamy (@itisprashanth) February 7, 2016
The risk also begins to increase as the size of the meteorite gets bigger. For instance, in 2013, a meteorite hit the Russian city of Chelyabinsk injuring over 1,000 people and damaging buildings.
Stay safe out there, everyone.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.