Mysterious Space Debris Comes Crashing Down In Three Separate Villages Of India

On Thursday evening, the residents of three villages in western India rushed out of their homes after hearing a loud thud. They believed that the ground was shaken by an earthquake, only to realize that the rattle was the result of some "meteorite" like objects pummeling from the sky.

The locals of three villages, Khambolaj, Bhalej, and Rampura in the Indian state of Gujarat found some metal balls, weighing about 12 lbs, outside their homes after the tremors were felt at around 5 p.m ET. The balls, which appeared to be burnt from the sides, were believed to be fragments of a satellite that came crashing onto the ground, Ahmedabad Mirror reported.

The burnt objects created panic among the villagers and they alerted the cops. The Superintendent of Police in the Anand District, Ajit Rajian, reached the spot with his team and cordoned off the area.

A police spokesperson told the outlet that no one was injured after the incident. "Rampura is 40 km from Ahmedabad and 96 km from Gandhinagar. Bhalej and Khambholaj are not very far from the Ahmedabad- Vadodara Expressway. Luckily the balls fell in isolated areas and no one was injured," a police officer told Ahmedabad Mirror.

Rajian said three different teams were dispatched to Khmabholaj, Bhalej, and Rampura after the village heads informed them about the strange occurrences.

"Initially we did not know what the objects were and a crowd had already gathered at the three spots. At present, it seems like they are the ball bearings that are used to maintain the momentum of a satellite in space in absence of gravity. We have called forensic experts from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar to help identify the objects," Rajian told the outlet.

The identification of the metallic balls is subject to an investigation by national agencies like the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Rajian told The Indian Express that the district police has called in the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) experts to begin a probe. "The FSL will arrive and conduct its probe. We have filed a ‘Note Case’ in the incident and will await the report of the FSL in the matter. Meanwhile, the officers of the district police are also trying to find out what the objects could possibly be," Rajian told the outlet.