The remains of a suspected Chinese missile crashed in India on Saturday. Villagers discovered a large metal ring and metal ball that had fallen from the sky in the western state of Maharashtra in the evening. Indian officials and space experts suspect it is part of a Chinese rocket launched more than a year ago.
Previously, numerous videos of mysterious grazing lights had been circulating on social media, crossing the Indian sky. The metal ring, which is said to be about three meters in diameter and weigh more than 40 kilograms, was discovered in a field in Chandrapur district, the PTI news agency reported, citing administrator Ajay Gulhane.
“We were preparing for a festival when the red disc lit up the sky and crashed into an empty lot in the village,” a villager told The Times of India newspaper. “People ran home for fear of an explosion and stayed indoors for almost half an hour.”
Metal ring and ball should be examined
Another object, a metal ball about half a meter in diameter, fell in another village in the same district, Gulhane told PTI. Both objects are now under investigation. County authorities have sent investigators to each village to “see if there are any other objects lying around.” There were initially no reports of injuries or property damage.
A representative of the Indian space agency ISRO told the Times of India that the objects were likely debris from a Chinese rocket launched in February 2021. “If missiles survive reentry, missile components such as nozzles, rings and tanks could hit the ground,” another ISRO representative told the newspaper.
Probably Chinese missile parts
Expert Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the US wrote on Twitter that the ring found in India (pictured in the tweet below) matches part of a Chinese Long March 3B rocket.
In 2020, debris from a Long March missile fell on Ivory Coast. Although they caused material damage in several villages, fortunately there were no deaths or injuries.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
