Space threat! Gujarat village hit by objects falling from sky

In a bizarre incident, three different villages in Gujarat witnessed mysterious objects falling from the sky. The incident took place in the Bhalej, Khambholaj and Rampura villages in Anand district of Gujarat. As these objects smashed into the ground, villagers were both terrified and surprised at the origin of these unidentified objects. There have been speculations, from asteroid fragments to satellite debris, regarding the objects. The district police have registered the incident and while they will not be investigating, experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory have been asked to investigate the situation. Also read: Travel tips from the man who's visited every country on Earth – and space.

At around 4:45 PM on May 12, a big metal ball, completely black in color, fell in Bhalej. The ball weighed around 5 kilograms. Similar incidents were noted in both Khambholaj and Rampura villages. Interestingly, all three villages are located within 15 kilometers of each other, which raises suspicion that the metal balls belonged to the same object and were broken apart during the descent to Earth.

Mysterious objects fall from the sky

According to a report by Times Now, the objects are suspected to be satellite debris. Ajit Raijaan, Superintendent of Police, Anand, spoke to Times Now and revealed that no injury or casualty was reported in the incident. “In Khambholaj, the debris fell away from a house while in the other two places it fell in an open area. As per villagers, the debris fell from the sky, the police are not sure what kind of space debris”. Also read: Moon to asteroids, wealthy nations are carving up space and its riches – leaving others behind.

Raijaan further stated that a team of Forensic Science Laboratory had been asked to investigate the matter by the district police. A full-fledged probe will take place once the FSL team arrives at the location. In the meantime, the police are also conducting an independent investigation into the matter.

While it is unclear at the moment whether it is indeed satellite debris or not, it can be stated that the object was most likely not a part of an asteroid. Since asteroids travel at a very high velocity, it would have gathered a lot of heat and either exploded in the sky itself like the Chelyabinsk incident or would have created an impact crater upon crashing into the Earth. The lack of either suggests that it could be something dropped from a much lesser height and at a lower velocity.