Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian villa

[ellisonz]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village

Mon Sep 17, 11:23 PM ET
LIMA (AFP) - Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.

Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.

Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a "strange odor," local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.

Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized, Lopez said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070918/sc_afp/peruhealthoffbeat

[Buttercup McToots]

1. ????

That sounds really weird...

[iconoclastic cat]

2. It's the Colour out of Space! nt

[frankieT]

8. nice ;)

[kenfrequed]

32. yes

Lovely lovecraft reference.

[iconoclastic cat]

54. Well, that's pretty much the plot of that story. nt

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. bacteria and viruses survive a meteor?

bringing the theories of how life began on our planet ever more to the surface. would it be a surprise that there may be a conflict between the early stages and us?

[mockmonkey]

4. I'm sure it's nothing.

[Felinity]

5. I'm sure it's not a meteor or on edit, maybe not sure

Just a hunch.

on edit:

There's a photo showing it coming in, it seems. Very strange though.

I'm sure if there is anything to it, we'll never hear more about it.

[mockmonkey]

12. My humor

The picture I posted is of Stephen King from the movie, "Creepshow." In the movie he played a guy that touches a meteorite while trying to dig it up in the hopes that he can get a lot of money for it. He ends up turning into a plant.

[Felinity]

50. The joke's on me

(edit to get link to work, couldn't get image to show up)

Actually, I didn't mean to reply to your comment; I was referring to the photo in the link!

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070918/photos_sc_afp/f3ad45943cd8efb910373f4919487d7f

But now a poster below pointed out it was a stock photo (how non-observant of me).

So now I'm going back to my prior skepticism--softened by some of the comments below--that it doesn't ring true with me that it's a meteor.

All in all, I'm looking pretty dumb here, where's my hat?

:dunce:

Do they make these in tin foil?

[jus_the_facts]

21. "METEOR SHIT!!!!"

:D

:thumbsup:

[mockmonkey]

22. LOL n/t

[formercia]

29. Astronaut overboard discharge.

:rofl:

An alien RV is using Earth to dump their waste tank.

Now you know how a fish feels when you piss in a brook.

[cyberpj]

23. That's hilarious! Stephen King himself, right? Thanks! nt

[Barrett808]

28. The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill

Classic.

[MorningGlow]

35. Meteor shit!

Geordie Verrell, you lunkhead!
:rofl:

[Sequoia]

52. No, lughead.

[bananas]

6. photo and more info

larger photo and more info:
http://forgetomori.com/2007/science/meteorite-makes-30-meter-crater-in-peru/
http://noticias.uol.com.br/ultnot/efe/2007/09/17/ult1809u12978.jhtm

[electron_blue]

25. I call bs. That crater is not *fresh* Any impact that large that happened in the last

week, or even last few months, would have devasted the surrounding area. Immediately outside the crater you can see undisturbed vegation which should be covered by debris. Not to mention the undisturbed roadway which is close enough to this hole to be covered by fallout.

And be sure to notice that the photo that accompanies the yahoo article in the OP is just a stock photo of *a* meteor streaking across the sky, not any particular one that may or may not have headed toward Peru a few days ago.

[uppityperson]

34. What?

You seem to be saying that this impact site is not big enough to be the site because the debris is not ejected far enough out. I don't understand because it could be that the impact was just big enough to eject material as far as it did, to cause the damage that it did. It hit, the debris went that far. I don't understand why you can discount it by saying it didn't cover the vegetation outside the debris zone. :crazy:

I'm not concerned, just interested but I don't understand your logic here.

[electron_blue]

37. I'm saying that I doubt this

because a meteoritic impact would hit with such momentum that it would kick out ejecta far more than is shown surrounding this hole. I'm claiming something else, not a meteorite, created this hole. Perhaps a bomb or some kind of detonated device that yields less energy than a meteorite of such size needed to make a hole that big.

[uppityperson]

38. That makes sense, I was thinking only a little bit was left to hit.

The rest vaporized or whatevered on the way in. Odd story though.

[kenfrequed]

56. Uhm

Are we looking at the same picture?

It is clear there is little to no vegetation around the crater other than some mean bits of flat scrub. There is a fair amount of water underneath and the crater hsas probably deformed a bit from some underground source of water that the meteor punched into. I would expect the object to have buried itself under the hole.

Physical descriptions of the site have described the vegetation as being burned around the site. If the hole seems unusually wide it is probably do to the ground around it collapsing and falling in a bit after it crashed in.

[Xithras]

47. Incorrect.

When meteorites enter at a shallow angle and are dense enough to survive their plunge, it's not uncommon for them to decelerate to a relatively low terminal velocity before impact. It's not only plausible, but actually likely, that the meteorite was moving at only a few hundred miles an hour when it hit the ground.

About 15 years ago I had the pleasure of watching a small meteorite strike in Central California. We watched it arc very slowly across the sky (a matter of perception, since it was actually arcing in our direction), and then watched it "go out" as it decelerated enough to cease forming plasma. The final plunge took a good ten to fifteen seconds and was ONLY visible as a faint glowing speck that looked kind of like an ember falling (the residual heat within the meteorite was causing it to glow faintly). The 8" iron meteorite was eventually found about 15 miles from where we were located, and it was in a tiny two foot deep crater.

The depth of meteorite craters varies HUGELY depending on the relative direction and speed of the incoming meteoroid, the composition of the meteorite at the moment of impact, the composition of the ground at the impact site. The primary factor, of course, is the amount of PE remaining in the meteorite when it hits the ground. If most of its energy was dissipated in the atmosphere, then the crater would be no different than that of a large terrestrial rock dropped from a jet at high altitude. You're only talking about a braking crater created by the deceleration of a large mass from terminal velocity.

On edit:

I tried to find some reference to the impact I witnessed on the web, but it's tough to find 15 year old local news online. I did find a great example of this phenomena though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoba_meteorite. The Hoba meteorite is a 66 ton, 9 foot by 3 foot meteorite that left NO crater when it hit the ground. Its speed was so low and its angle of entry was so shallow that it left no lasting sign of its strike. I wouldn't have wanted to have been standing nearby when it hit, but a witness even a few hundred meters away wouldn't have reported anything other than a loud boom.

[electron_blue]

70. I know that very little is needed to make such a large hole. I still say this hole is unrelated to

a meteorite hit. I think some people saw something and heard something but when they went looking they found this hole instead. Maybe from a sinkhole or spring or something else. This hole just does not *look* like all the impact craters I've studied over the years. Thanks for the Hoba link, though - very interesting.

[Zorro]

7. Time to call in Mulder and Scully

Sounds like an X File case to me.

[Chovexani]

58. There was an X-Files episode that started just like this

It was in a migrant camp in California. Everyone thought the meteor brought down Chupacabras. :scared:

[plasticsundance]

9. Panspermia

Panspermia

Sir Fred Hoyle (1915–2001) and Chandra Wickramasinghe (born 1939) were important proponents of the hypothesis who further contended that lifeforms continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere, and may be responsible for epidemic outbreaks, new diseases, and the genetic novelty necessary for macroevolution. This extension has also been adopted by proponents of Cosmic ancestry.

[bananas]

10. another photo

from http://www.signs-of-the-times.org/articles/show/139967-Peru%3A+Meteorite+falls+and+makes+a+crater+in+the+ground

[bananas]

11. reuters video

http://www.reuters.com/news/video/videoStory?videoId=66641

[niceypoo]

13. The martians are mad

We keep wrecking their crop circles

[trusty elf]

39. Do you think they'll be mad about this?

[cali]

14. Perhaps the impact dislodged something that became

airborne? Is that a dumb thought?

[Ian David]

17. Maybe it set fire to a field of coca plants? n/t

[High Plains]

42. No coca in the altiplano. It doesn't grow well at that altitude.

[CGowen]

26. the radio said something of lead and silver, although I'm not sure where it came from

http://forgetomori.com/2007/science/meteorite-makes-30-meter-crater-in-peru

The farmers of the place fear the appearance of some disease, since chips of lead and silver were liberated in the shock of the meteor with the soil, the local broadcasting station “RPP” informed.

[parkia00]

15. Radioactive?

Could it be radiation sickness?

[Ian David]

16. It could also be purely a psychological response as well. Sure to be interesting, regardless.

But maybe it landed in a field of coca plants?

[Javaman]

18. Soylent green is pod people!!!!! nt

[bigworld]

20. Torchwood's on it

[cascadiance]

43. Interesting that "Day One" episode this week on BBC America

covers this very scenario (alien from a meteorite). Spooky!...

[Lucinda]

64. Torchwood!

Looks good so far :)

[donco6]

66. I've been enjoying it.

You can certainly see the Dr. Who elements, but it's a bit edgier and sexier. Just as funny. Good show.

[originalpckelly]

19. Andromeda Strain anyone?

[cascadiance]

40. You beat me to it!

[virgdem]

44. Damn...

you both beat me to it, but that was my very first thought. Loved that movie. God, we are dating ourselves, aren't we.

[originalpckelly]

57. Well, don't feel too bad. I'm pretty young actually...

and I love that movie too.

[Sequoia]

51. No, that isn't it, it's.......drum roll.........

[Ex Lion Tamer]

46. Loved that movie!

Scary as hell!

Fail Safe was another really good scary one from back then.

[StClone]

24. I'm feeling woozy just reading this story

At worst Hydrogen sulfide at best mass psychosomatic illness.

[mopinko]

27. people react to strange smells.

i think this has come up in the context of many "new diseases", like cfs, chemical sensitivity, etc. not to say that these are not real, just to say that in the course of investigating some of these things, it has been shown that people react to strange smells. headaches are the most common response.

[valerief]

31. I get a sinus headache from the dreadful cologne people wear. nt

[gauguin57]

30. On behalf of all the Coast-to-Coast with George Noory listeners out there ...

... WE ARE NOT SURPRISED!

:scared: :scared: :scared: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat:

[kenfrequed]

33. I wonder if??

It is some kind of ammonia gas caused by the interraction of the meteor with existing underground water or ice. Perhaps ammonia salts in the soil or water were vaporized by the thing.

Is there any better info on this?

[kenfrequed]

36. of course

there are loads of possible chemicals that have a strange smell and cause a reaction. Ammonia was about the simplest I could think of. Of course there are numerous chlorine gasses that could have similar symptoms...

[SlowDownFast]

48. Sulfur smell from released sulfites in the meteor.

Quite common.

Officials said one reason the meteorite may smell bad is it could contain high concentrations of chemicals, such as sulfur.

more:http://www.nbc11.com/news/14141075/detail.html


A bright fireball lit up the skies of the Pacific Northwest early this morning at 2:40 am, June 3, 2004. Reports have come in from numerous localities in Washington and Oregon, and as far east as Couer d'Alene, Idaho. Sonic booms were heard from Portland, Oregon to Olympia, Washington. A "burning sulfur smell" was reported in Chehalis.

more:http://meteorites.pdx.edu/June3_fireball.htm

Tons of info if you Google...

[MetalCanuck]

41. 28 Weeks later?

Could this be the Zombie invasion? LOL:)

Sorry this is actually scary, I hope the people are ok.

[SpikeTss]

45. Here's the scientific explanation for all of this (illnesses, etc.)

Sorry, could not resist: B-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listening_to_Fear

[Chovexani]

49. Uh-oh. Maybe it's her again?

Uh, any time now with the rain, Aerith. :scared:

[sakabatou]

59. Our Mother, who art in a box

Jenova be thy name
Sephiroth come, Cloud be undone,
on Midgar as it is in Shin-Ra
Give us this day our daily materia
and forgive us our status effects,
as we forgive those whose status we effect
Lead us not into Omega Weapon,
but deliver us from the Knights of the Round
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever,
In your name we pray,
OKAA-SAAAAAANNNN!!!!!

[rodeodance]

53. meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep (six-meter-deep)

Rescue teams and experts were dispatched to the scene, where the meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep (six-meter-deep) crater, said local official Marco Limache.

"Boiling water started coming out of the crater and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby. Residents are very concerned," he said.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

55. A fireball was spotted over New Mexico on the 13th...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=6931353

Kind of interesting that these two events occurred within 2 days of each other.

[Richard D]

60. Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits village

Source: AFP

Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said today.

Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.

Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a "strange odor," local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.

Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized, Lopez said.




Read more: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=296907

[49jim]

61. Did anyone..........

find a baby in a rocket ship from Krypton?

[OKIsItJustMe]

62. Reuters UK: Peruvians get sick from apparent meteorite crater

http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKN1843987520070918

[LosinIt]

63. Probably that dude back looking for another "brand new Egger Suit!"

anybody with me on this one??

[donco6]

67. I never could figure out the name she was saying.

"Why's she saying 'Eggar'? Isn't his name 'Edgar?'" But she was so perfect for the scene, I laugh every time I see it.

[Peace Patriot]

65. I just want to mention that rightwing paramilitaries are active in the border

regions of Bolivia/Colombia, Bolivia/Peru (also Venezuela/Colombia), with ties to the top echelons of the rightwing Uribe government in Colombia, which is receiving billions of U.S. tax dollars in military aid, and also where Blackwater mercenaries are being recruited and trained for Iraq. These paramilitaries have committed heinous crimes, such as chainsawing union organizers and throwing their body parts into mass graves, and killing entire villages. It is a huge scandal in Colombia, especially because of the very close ties to the government, and thus to the U.S. "war on drugs" military funding.

One of the tactics of the Bushite-funded and controlled "war on drugs" is widespread toxic pesticide spraying, which kills peasant farmers' animals and food crops, also damages human DNA, to drive the small farmers off their land (and into urban squalor) so that the big drug traffickers, and also corporations like Chiquita and Monsanto, can take over the land. Massive corporate biofuel production is one of the new goals of this long-standing and very murderous policy against small farmers. But another aspect of it is efforts to destabilize Bolivia and Venezuela--which both have leftist (people-friendly) governments--by creating violent border incidents. In Bolivia, in particular, the rural provinces--the ones rich in oil, gas and other resources--are controlled by the rightwing, which is trying to split these provinces off from the central government (so that resource profits will benefit the rich landowners, and not the government of leftist President Evo Morales and the vast poor population that has been driven into the urban areas). Rightwing paramilitary activity and Bush Junta funding and plotting are rife in these areas. Peru (very corrupt pro-Bush "free trade" government) has also been receiving Bush "anti-drug" military aid.

Given all of this, would it be very surprising to anyone to find out that the U.S. military is testing bioweapons in these remote areas? That's what occurred to me when I heard of the illness (with reports of possibly five hundred families being affected, and all of the policemen who visited the crater). (Vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, and some kind of respiratory problem, requiring treatment with oxygen, and hospitalization.) Maybe it's just a meteor, which kicked up something in the soil (natural or corporate-made), or brought something with it, and happened to hit a water table, with water and water vapor helping to spread whatever it is into the air and onto, and into, humans. It would be important to know if all the villagers that got sick visited the crater--and if not, how they got affected. Bear in mind that remote Peruvian villagers don't have TV or DVD players, or much access at all to popular American culture. So, psychosomatic illness--based on fear of aliens, for instance--seems less likely in their case. Some reports have mentioned local beliefs about the bad agricultural year they are having, and this meteor and its illness being some kind of omen. But such interpretations of the event don't mean that the illness is not physical.

Bushite "free trade" has been very bad for Peru's economy, and there is a lot of unrest. There may be a general feeling that life in Peru is going to get a lot worse before they are able to kick out the corporate/U.S.-friendly government and elect a government that acts in their interest. Conditions are already very bad. This could be contributing to local interpretation of the incident, but it still does not mean that the illness is unreal, or that something is not amiss here--for instance, some kind of weapons experiment.

I'd sure like to know more about rightwing paramilitary and U.S. military activity in the area. They have committed dastardly deed in this region, and are capable of anything.

[Socal31]

69. I was getting worried......

noone had blamed the US yet!

[Algorem]

68. this shows how icky outer space probably is