Lima (ANTARA News) - Warga desa di Peru selatan diserang penyakit
aneh, setelah sebuah meteor dengan sangat mengejutkan menghantam Bumi
di desa mereka, kata pihak berwenang di wilayah tersebut, Senin.
Sekitar tengah hari Sabtu, warga desa dikejutkan oleh suara ledakan
kuat dan bola api yang diyakini banyak orang adalah pesawat yang
mengalami kecelakaan di desa mereka yang terpencil dan terletak di
daerah Puno, dataran tinggi Andes di wilayah Desaguadero, yang berada
di dekat perbatasan dengan Bolivia.
Warga mengeluh bahwa mereka menderita sakit kepala dan muntah-muntah
akibat "aroma aneh", kata pejabat Departemen Kesehatan setempat, Jorge
Lopez, sep[erti dikutp AFP dari radio Peru, RPP.
Tujuh personel polisi yang datang untuk memeriksa laporan itu juga
jatuh sakit dan harus diberi oksigen sebelum dirawat di rumah sakit,
kata Lopez.
Tim pertolongan dan tenaga ahli dikirim ke lokasi kejadian, tempat
batu-bintang tersebut membuat lubang selebar 30 meter dan dalam enam
meter, kata pejabat setempat Marco Limache.
"Air mendidih mulai keluar dari lubang itut dan pecahan batu serta
arang ditemukan di dekatnya. Penduduk sangat prihatin," katanya.
Peru meteorite crash 'causes mystery illness'
Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent
The meteorite impact crater high in the Peruvian Andes is said to be
emitting noxious fumes. Photograph: EPA
A meteorite has struck a remote part of Peru and carved a large crater
that is emitting noxious odours and making villagers ill, according to
local press reports.
A fireball streaked across the Andean sky late on Saturday night and
crashed into a field near Carancas, a sparsely populated highland
wilderness near Lake Titicaca on the border with Bolivia, witnesses
said.
The orange streak and loud bang were initially thought to be a plane
crashing. When farmers went to investigate, however, they found a
crater at least 10m wide and 5m deep, but no sign of wreckage.
The soil around the hole appeared to be scorched and there was a
"strange odour", a local health department official, Jorge López, told
Peru's RPP radio.
Later the farmers complained of headaches and vomiting. Police who
went to investigate the crater were also stricken with nausea,
prompting authorities to dispatch a medical team that reached the site
today.
"The odour is strong and it's affecting nearby communities. There are
500 families close by and they have had symptoms of nausea, vomiting,
digestive problems and general sickness," said Mr López.
At least 12 people were treated in addition to seven police officers
who required oxygen masks and rehydration. The farmers expressed fears
that what appeared to be chunks of lead and silver around the site
could contaminate the soil. A member of the National Academy of
Sciences, Modesto Montoya, told the state press agency that a fallen
meteorite did not present any danger unless it hit some structure on
impact.
"None of the meteorites that fall in Peru and make perforations of
varied sizes are harmful for people, unless they fall on a house," he
said. Another meteorite fell to Earth in Arequipa province in June.
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