Injured people in Russia meteorite shower reach 1,100

Some 1,100 people were injured after the meteor blazed across the western Siberian sky with a blinding flash and booming shockwave, Sky News reports stating that a 20,000-strong rescue team has reportedly been sent by the Russian authorities to the Ural Mountains after a meteor struck.

The Russian Academy of Sciences said the meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere at 33,000mph (54,000kph) - 15 times the speed of a rifle bullet - and shattered into pieces around 18-32 miles (30-50km) high in the sky.

It reportedly exploded with the force of 20 atomic bombs.

Nasa estimated its speed was even faster at 40,000mph, and said it exploded at about 12-15 miles high and left a trail 300 miles long.

The meteor weighed an estimated 7,000 tons and was about the size of a bus, Nasa said.

"There was panic. People had no idea what was happening," Sergey Hametov, of Chelyabinsk, told Sky News.

Many were hurt by flying glass as windows were blown in. Witnesses described feeling a pressure wave and hearing explosions overhead as the object hurtled to Earth.

Lessons had just started at Chelyabinsk schools when the meteor exploded, and officials said 258 children were among those injured. Amateur video showed a teacher speaking to her class as a powerful shock wave hit the room.

There was no immediate word on deaths or anyone struck by rock fragments.

Meteors typically cause sonic booms when they enter the atmosphere because they are travelling much faster than the speed of sound.

The defence ministry said it had identified a six-metre crater at a lake in the region and has sent soldiers to the site of the apparent impact of one fragment.

Thousands of rescue workers were dispatched to help the injured and locate those needing help.