An unknown object fell in the forests of Artyomovsky district (Sverdlovsk region), according to "Yegorshinskiye Vesti". On a site with a radius of about 30 meters, a stone crumbles after exposure to high temperatures.
According to eyewitnesses, large trees were felled in different directions, as if in an explosion, but there is no crater there, only a few depressions of small diameter. Curiously, the tops of the nearby trees are untouched by the flames. On the ground there are red-colored ashes, about 30 centimeters thick, and underneath there is still incredible heat, local hunters report.
Witnesses found three deep cylindrical holes on the ashes, at the bottom of which, after examination with a metal probe, solid objects were found. And one of them is in rocky ground. The radiation background, according to the newspaper's correspondent, at the place of the unusual incident does not exceed the norm. In addition, the hunters noted that there was a creosote smell on the ashes. No wreckage, for example from the missing AN-2 aircraft, was found at the scene.
As the correspondent of the edition notes, there is no peat bog in this place, that it emits such heat remains incomprehensible.
Sergey Zherikov, researcher:
- Judging by the high temperature in the soil, and the tops did not suffer, it can be assumed that the spent stage of the launch vehicle collapsed. Maybe something else fell with the fuel, falling apart. Therefore, several high-temperature craters appeared - parts pierced the ground, and the fuel continues to burn. Due to the high temperature, the soil turned into ash. A meteorite will not give such high-temperature results.