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Wednesday, Sep 06, 2006

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Meteorite fall in Rajasthan village

Special Correspondent

10th incident in the State since 1995

The meteorite which fell at Kanvarpura village near Rawatbhata in Rajasthan recently.

JAIPUR: A meteorite fell at Kanvarpura village near Rawatbhata, where the Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant is situated, on August 29.

It weighs 6.8 kg and is of a rare type as it consists of 90 per cent iron.

"Unspectacular event"

At a press conference here on Monday, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) said the Kanvarpura incident was an "unspectacular event" compared to the meteorite shower in Gujarat recently.

GSI Deputy Director-General (western region) R.S. Goyal said no fireworks were seen as the meteorite fell around 1:37 p.m. "The bright sunlight masked any glow in the sky, and the event would have probably gone unreported but for two shepherds who reported the matter at a police station."

Frightens shepherds

Dr. Goyal said the shepherds got frightened after the meteorite fell with a loud sound. They beat the meteorite with lathis and dragged it some distance, before immersing it in water. GSI scientists, who rushed to the village, recovered the meteorite with the help of the local administration.

He said the meteorite could have caused devastation on an "unimaginable scale" if it had fallen on the Rawatbhata Atomic Power Plant. At least 10 cosmic bodies have fallen in the State, especially in its western parts, since 1995. The previous incident was reported at Bhuka village in Barmer district in June 2005.

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