Hundreds hurt as meteorite hits Russia (Pictures)

More than 500 people were injured when a meteorite shot across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, sending fireballs crashing to Earth, shattering windows and damaging buildings.

People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.

A fireball blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail in its wake which could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away in Yekaterinburg. Car alarms went off, windows shattered and mobile phone networks were interrupted.

\"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it was day,\" said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains.

\"I felt like I was blinded by headlights,\" he said.

No fatalities were reported but President Vladimir Putin, who was due to host Finance Ministry officials from the Group of 20 nations in Moscow, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were informed.

A local ministry official said such incidents were extremely rare and Friday's events might have been linked to an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool due to pass Earth at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles) but this was not confirmed.

Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the meteorite was travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second and that such events were hard to predict. The Interior Ministry said the meteorite explosion had caused a sonic boom.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry said 514 people had sought medical help, mainly for light injuries caused by flying glass, and that 112 of those were kept in hospital. Search groups were set up to look for the remains of the meteorite.

\"There have never been any cases of meteorites breaking up at such a low level over Russia before,\" said Yuri Burenko, head of the Chelyabinsk branch of the Emergencies Ministry.

WINDOWS BREAK, FRAMES BUCKLE

Windows were shattered on Chelyabinsk's central Lenin Street and some of the frames of shop fronts buckled.

A loud noise, resembling an explosion, rang out at around 9.20 a.m. (12:20 a.m. ET). The shockwave could be felt in apartment buildings in the industrial city's center.

\"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend,\" said Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name. \"Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shockwave that smashed windows.\"

A wall was damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said there was no environmental threat.

Although such events are rare, a meteorite is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia in 1908, smashing windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.

The Emergencies Ministry described Friday's events as a \"meteor shower in the form of fireballs\" and said background radiation levels were normal. It urged residents not to panic.

Unexpected sight: A terrifying meteorite shower left more than 500 people injured, buildings devastated and the mobile network wiped out when it hit Russia this moing

Terrifying: Brightly buing rocks could be seen for hundreds of kilometres as they crashed at around 9.20am local time and one bystander described it 'like a scene from the Armageddon movie'

Spectacular sky: The Urals region was struck by falling meteorite fragments which fell in the city of Chelyabinsk, 900 miles east of Moscow and close to the Kazakhstan border

Before and after: A video showed a street scene in Russia before the meteorite shower struck. Seconds later the street was lit up in a haze of bright white as the large fireball exploded

Speed: Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the meteorite was travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second and that such events were hard to predict

Interception: According to an unconfirmed report in Russia Today, the meteor was intercepted by Russian air defense

Shockwave: People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave

Smoking: Pictures show a streak of smoke followed by several bright blasts of flames

Coincidence: Early indications are that the shower is unrelated to Asteroid 2012 DA14, which is due to skim the orbit of the Earth later today

High in the sky: The vapour trail of a falling meteorite is seen in the sky over the city of Chelyabinsk

Injured: A man identifying himself as Viktor poses for a photograph after receiving treatment for injuries after the meteorite shower hit the Russian region

Medical treatment: Many injured had bloodied faces from being hit by shards of glass broken in the explosions

Toll: Hundreds of people were injured, but there have been no reports of fatalities

Fear: First reports suggested that there had been a plane crash but officials confirmed it was one or more meteorites falling to Earth

Explosion: Eyewitnesses spoke of several devastating explosions rocking buildings and shattering glass

Damaged: A zinc factory in Chelyabinsk was seen with a partially collapsed roof and walls in the moing after meteor pieces rained on the town

Moment of impact: A pair, seen on CCTV, cower from the impact as the window near them explodes

Injured: Four schoolchildren were known to have been injured from broken glass

Unexpected: Eyewitnesses spoke of several devastating explosions rocking buildings and shattering glass

Hurt: A school in Chelyabinsk took a fair brunt of the explosion - four students were injured

Ruined: The sounds of car alarms and breaking windows could be heard in the area, said a witness, and there were reports that the inteet and mobile networks were temporarily down

Damaged: The emergencies ministry said that 20,000 rescue workers had been dispatched to help the injured and locate those needing help

Clear up: A man removes shards of glass from the frame of a broken window - most of the injuries were from glass

Surprise: Shocked residents look up in the sky with horror

Aftermath: People look at damage to a shop following the meteor shower

Shattered: The city of Chelyabinsk, 900 miles east of Moscow and close to the Kazakhstan border, took the brunt of the impact

Destroyed: The building of the local zinc plant badly damaged by a shockwave from a meteorite impact

Impact: Small pieces of space debris - usually parts of comets or asteroids - that are on a collision course with the Earth are called meteoroids

Getting to work: Rescue servicemen work at the site of a collapsed wall and roof of the concentrate warehouse of the zinc plant in Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk city authorities urged people to stay indoors unless they needed to pick up their children from schools and kindergartens. They said what sounded like a blast had been heard at an altitude of 10,000 meters (32,800 feet).

The U.S. space agency NASA has said an asteroid known as 2012 DA14, about 46 meters in diameter, would have an encounter with Earth closer than any asteroid since scientists began routinely monitoring them about 15 years ago.

Television, weather and communications satellites fly about 500 miles higher. The moon is 14 times farther away.