END TIMES UPDATE: meteor lands in peru; "People who have visited scene have been complaining of headaches, vomiting and nausea after inhaling gases. '...we are worried for our people. They are af

ITS THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE AAEIIIE FLEEE.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/space/article/0,,2171920,00.html

Peru meteorite crash 'causes mystery illness'

Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent
Tuesday September 18, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

The meteorite impact crater high in the Peruvian Andes is said to be emitting noxious fumes. Photograph: EPA

A meteorite has struck a remote part of Peru and carved a large crater that is emitting noxious odours and making villagers ill, according to local press reports.
A fireball streaked across the Andean sky late on Saturday night and crashed into a field near Carancas, a sparsely populated highland wilderness near Lake Titicaca on the border with Bolivia, witnesses said.

The orange streak and loud bang were initially thought to be a plane crashing. When farmers went to investigate, however, they found a crater at least 10m wide and 5m deep, but no sign of wreckage.

Article continues

The soil around the hole appeared to be scorched and there was a "strange odour", a local health department official, Jorge López, told Peru's RPP radio.
Later the farmers complained of headaches and vomiting. Police who went to investigate the crater were also stricken with nausea, prompting authorities to dispatch a medical team that reached the site today.

"The odour is strong and it's affecting nearby communities. There are 500 families close by and they have had symptoms of nausea, vomiting, digestive problems and general sickness," said Mr López.

At least 12 people were treated in addition to seven police officers who required oxygen masks and rehydration.

The farmers expressed fears that what appeared to be chunks of lead and silver around the site could contaminate the soil.

A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Modesto Montoya, told the state press agency that a fallen meteorite did not present any danger unless it hit some structure on impact.

"None of the meteorites that fall in Peru and make perforations of varied sizes are harmful for people, unless they fall on a house," he said. Another meteorite fell to Earth in Arequipa province in June.

:-O

planet john wyndham

that last quote, wtf?

yes, if you are walking around outside the meteorite will simply bounce harmlessly off yr head like a balloon.

this is only the prelude to a gaseous invasion

Nothing is ever harmful until some journalist discovers the bodies, but by then the panicky collapse of society has been averted. (xxpost)

I, for one, welcome our new bacterial overlor*cough*

surely meteorites can be composed of pretty much any minerals, be they harmful or benign?

bbc story updated: An engineer from the Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute told the AFP news agency no radiation had been detected from the crater and ruled out the fallen object being a satellite.

Renan Ramirez said: "It is a conventional meteorite that, when it struck, produced gases by fusing with elements of the terrain."

The gases are believed to have affected the health of hundreds of people who visited the site.

75% of peruvians who say they have meteorite allergies are neurotics

"Increasingly we think that people witnessed a fireball, which are not uncommon, went off to investigate and found a lake of sedimentary deposit, which may be full of smelly, methane rich organic matter," said Dr Caroline Smith, a meteorite expert at the London-based Natural History Museum.

interesting, but are they suggesting that the lake already existed. Surely the local residents would be aware of that ?

Boing Boing has a picture:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/18/andromeda-strain-hit.html

Has anyone talked to anyone in Peru since this story broke? OH NOES THEY'RE ALL DEAD!!!

http://starmen.net/mother2/images/screenshots/pokeyhill.png http://starmen.net/mother2/images/screenshots/meteorlight.png