Death by Meteorite? ‘Indian man’ could be first recorded human fatality due to a meteorite

Death by meteorite is a common theme in science-fiction movies, but in real life, the chances of being done in by a falling space rock are virtually nil. That’s what makes the reports about the death of Indian bus driver V. Kamaraj in an apparent meteorite strike so remarkable.

A bus driver died after suffering severe injuries while he was walking close to the cafeteria at the Bharathidasan Engineering College, where the object hit, according to the Wall Street Journal. Three others were injured in the blast.

“There was a noise like a big explosion,” G. Baskar, principal of the college in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district, told the newspaper. “It was an abnormal sound that could be heard till at least 3 km [about 2 miles] away.”

Meteorite-caused injuries or deaths are incredibly rare, according to NASA, which said on its website that there is no record “in modern times of any person being killed by a meteorite.” “An individual’s chance of being killed by a meteorite is small, but the risk increases with the size of the impacting comet or asteroid,” NASA said.

The meteorite left a 4-ft. deep crater and shattered windows of classrooms and nearby vehicles. The explosion injured two gardeners and a student, according to the Wall Street Journal. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa told the newspaper that a meteorite fell inside the campus.

Agencies/Canadajournal