// a href = ./ // St Louis News, Weather, Sports, The Big 550 AM, St Louis Traffic, Breaking News in St Louis

Saturday, 16 February 2013 08:30

RUSSIAN REGION BEGINS RECOVERY FROM METEOR FALL

CHELYABINSK, Russia (AP) -- A small army of workers set to work Saturday to replace the estimated 200,000 square meters (50 acres) of windows shattered by the shock wave from a meteor that exploded over Russia's Chelyabinsk region. The astonishing Friday morning event blew out windows in more than 4,000 buildings in the region, mostly in the capital city of the same name and injured some 1,200 people, largely with cuts from the flying glass. Fifteen of the injured remained hospitalized on Saturday, one of them in a coma, the regional health ministry said, according to the Interfax news agency. Regional governor Mikhail Yurevich on Saturday said damage from the high-altitude explosion - estimated to have the force of 20 atomic bombs - is estimated at 1 billion rubles ($33 million). He promised to have all the broken windows replaced within a week. But that is a long wait in a frigid region. The midday temperature in Chelyabinsk was minus-12 C (10 F), and for many the immediate task was to put up plastic sheeting and boards on shattered residential windows. More than 24,000 people, including volunteers, have mobilized in the region to cover windows, gather warm clothes and food and make other relief efforts, the regional governor's office said. Crews from glass companies in adjacent regions were being flown in. In the town of Chebarkul, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Chelyabinsk city, divers explored the bottom of an ice-crusted lake looking for meteor fragments believed to have fallen there, leaving a six-meter-wide (20-foot-wide) hole. Emergency Ministry spokeswoman Irina Rossius told Russian news agencies the search hadn't found anything. Police kept a small crowd of curious onlookers from venturing out onto the icy lake, where a tent was set up for the divers. Many of them were still trying to process the memories of the strange day they'd lived through. Valery Fomichov said he had been out for a run when the meteor streaked across the sky shortly after sunrise. "I glanced up and saw a glowing dot in the west. And it got bigger and bigger, like a soccer ball, until it became blindingly white and I turned away," he said. In a local church, clergyman Sexton Sergei sought to derive a larger lesson. "Perhaps God was giving a kind of sign, so that people don't simply think about their own trifles on earth, but rather look to the heavens once in a while."
Published in National News

Latest News

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Prev Next
Hillary Clinton accepts humanitarian award in NYC

Hillary Clinton accepts humanitarian award in NYC

   NEW YORK (AP) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton touted the efforts of a group combatting malnutrition and blindness during an awards speech in New York City.  ...

Mayor Slay calls for donations to Moore, Oklahoma

Mayor Slay calls for donations to Moore, Oklahoma

  City leaders were together to announce the start of a drive to collect donations headed to Moore, Oklahoma.  The campaign started out on Twitter with the hashtag #STL4OKC. The ...

Friends and family of victim call for investigation int…

Dozens of protesters demonstrated outside St. Louis city police headquarters Wednesday, determined to continue pressuring for an investigation into the shooting death of a St. Loui...

Larry Conners no longer with KMOV

Larry Conners no longer with KMOV

Long-time KMOV reporter and anchor Larry Conners is no longer with the station.  KMOV President Mark Pimentel issued the following statement: "We regret to announce that Larry Co...

Roads closed in advance of Senior PGA Championship

Roads closed in advance of Senior PGA Championship

Some roads are already closed in Town & Country as Bellerieve Country Club as preparations continue for the Senior PGA Championship. From 6AM until 8PM through Sunday, Ladue R...

Man runs from traffic stop, into police headquarters

Man runs from traffic stop, into police headquarters

A St. Louis man redefined the phrase, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Clayton police were conducting a traffic stop when the suspect jumped out of his car and started run...

Police investigating reports of illegal taping at Illinois High School

Police investigating reports of illegal taping at Illin…

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- AP —Police in Belleville say they’re investigating reports that female students at a Catholic high school secretly were videotaped by one of the school’s sports...

Priya, the elephant calf, makes public debut

Priya, the elephant calf, makes public debut

Visitors to the St. Louis Zoo got their first look at the newest resident of the elephant exhibit. Priya, the Asian Elephant calf, made her debut today. A zoo spokesperson says th...

© 2013 KTRS All Rights Reserved

St Louis Web Design