A meteor has rocked the skies of western Cuba, exploding mid-air, shattering windows and raining charred meteorite rocks on people’s homes. Before its spectacular demise, the space rock was seen flying above Florida.
The meteor exploded near the town of Viñales, in the Pinar del Río province, Friday, with witnesses reporting hearing two loud blasts as it disintegrated. The body left a huge trail of smoke in the sky and showered the ground with small rocks.
#BREAKING: Just got this video from a friend in #PinardelRio who says they think the trail in the sky was left by a #meteorite, which shattered windows and made extremely loud sounds. Sounded like two #explosions. #cuba @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/AMmb9ZE6vB
— Hatzel Vela (@HatzelVelaWPLG) February 1, 2019
The terrifying celestial event took place in the clear light of day, and locals managed to catch the sky spectacle on their mobile phones.
Only in Cuba does an apparent meteorite crash and you happen to know the person who’s house was hit. pic.twitter.com/jYhAnBLUy0
— Patrick Oppmann CNN (@CNN_Oppmann) February 1, 2019
Local channel TelePinar’s reporter Fátima Rivera Amador was one of the first people to post what looks like pieces of meteorite.
#UltimaHora: Habitantes de #PinarDelRío en el coccidente de #Cuba, reportan una fuerte explosión. Testigos observaron candela y humo en el cielo. A la espera de testimonios sobre lo ocurrido. pic.twitter.com/Pl55d1ty5w
— Rolando Segura (@rolandoteleSUR) February 1, 2019
Close-up pictures of her holding charred rocks with whitish material on the inside have been shared on social media.
Just before the explosion above Cuba, the meteor was observed from the US. The National Weather Service in Key West reported that it was seen over the Florida Keys, as far north as Marathon.
We're receiving reports that a meteor was seen in the sky across the Florida Keys. It appears that a meteorite impact occurred in western Cuba, near the town of Viñales, Pinar del Río, earlier this afternoon. #flwx #KeyWest #FloridaKeys #meteor https://t.co/PbzbrEhoGf
— NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) February 1, 2019
The explosion, which reportedly rattled some windows in the town, has also caused a great deal of confusion, with some outlets first reporting it as a crash of a large plane.
UPDATE: About the alleged crash of a large airplane in #Cuba, Granma is saying that the explosion at Pinar del Rio was caused by a meteorite. However, the Cuban government is mobilizing personnel to further investigate the incident.https://t.co/8Vcu6y3AVr
— LAAHS (@The_LAAHS) February 1, 2019
An “independent journalist” Ignacio Luis Gonzalez Vidal went even further and claimed that it was a military aircraft full of Cuban soldiers returning from Venezuela. No evidence to back up the bold claim was provided.
Hey guys! This was just a meteorite! Yes it was a nice little big space rock that exploded pretty close from the ground! You remember Chelyabinsk? Well that is now the Cuban Chelyabinsk!
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[RT]
This was a big metallic Space Rock …. without color green (Poison)
Les météorites sur Cuba font partie du champ de débris de la planète X