Very bright fireball explodes over Jinghong City, China, several homes damaged

A very bright fireball exploded over the Chinese city of Jinghong in Yunnan Province at 13:40 UTC on June 1, 2018. Locals reported sonic booms associated with the event.

According to witness reports, the event lasted for about 2 seconds and was followed by two sonic booms. This indicates the object penetrated deep into the atmosphere and that some of its pieces might have survived the entry.

The director of the Xishuangbanna State Seismological Bureau, Ma Zhengyin, said the object entered at an angle of 70 degrees, common for meteors. However, both Zhengyin and Wang Xiaobin, a researcher at the Yunnan Observatory of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said they can't be sure it was a meteor because the video was short and there was no obvious path.

According to local media reports, people living in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province are looking for possible meteorites on the ground.

Update

Numerous fragments have been found and several homes damaged: Read more.

Featured image: Bright fireball explodes over Chinese Jinghong City, Yunnan Province on June 1, 2018. Credit: SS Xiao Jiao Gong Gong via Exoss Citizen Science