Flaming object, possibly a meteorite, crashes into mountain, sparks fire

LATEST: AN air and ground search of the area where a bright flash and explosion was witnessed early this morning has failed to find an obvious cause.

Emergency services initially believed a plane may have crashed into a mountain at Takilberan Creek northwest of Gin Gin but the Australian Search and Rescue Authority received no mayday or distress calls from aircraft.
Although a search found a fire on the mountain, there was no evidence of any wreckage or “risk to human life”.

Property owner Hazel Marlin told ABC Radio the mountain was covered in smoke.


A spokesman for the AGL Action Rescue Helicopter said a crew had not been able to identify what caused the fire.
“They’ve conducted ground searches as well as an aerial search,” he said.

“There is a fire up there but it could have been caused by a space junk or meteor strike, or even a lightning strike,” said the spokesman.

Police from Gin Gin have also been involved in an air and ground search in the thickly forested area following a Triple-0 call about 6.30am.



The spectacle was initially treated as a possible plane crash but is now believed to be a meteor or space junk falling to earth.

Police said the Australian Search and Rescue Authority received no mayday or distress calls from aircraft.

Earlier, police said they had been notified that a witness may have seen ``something fall out of the sky'' into the side of a mountain early this morning.

Space authorities said it was not uncommon for natural material to hit the earth, with about 100 tonnes of material entering the earth's atmosphere every day.

But most said it was unlikely to be a meteorite because they were far too cold to spark fires.

A resident of Dalby, about 350km southwest of Takilberan Creek, said she saw an explosion of white-yellow light streak across the sky about 6am.

``It was brighter and larger and too low in the sky to be a falling star,'' Jo Kemlo said.

``It was just a flash, it was kind of like a comet tail, but just for a few seconds.

``It was a ball of light that went to a tail.''

Ms Kemlo said the flash was low in the sky, and heading downwards, and easily differentiated in the pre-dawn light from the higher stars.

``It was quite exciting, just amazing to see,'' she said.

Ms Kemlo suspected it was a meteorite of some kind, having seen a similar sight in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia more than 10 years ago.

``It looked like it was just in front of us, but I'm sure most places in Australia could have seen it if they were looking in the right direction, at the right time.''

A reader at Mt Samson, on Brisbane's northwestern outskirts, said he saw a similar object around 6am.

"It was a bright orange shooting star that left a sparkling trail," the man said.


A UFO Research Queensland spokeswoman said they had received no reports about the incident.

[link to www.news.com.au]



'UFO' crashes into mountain
Adelaidenow - ‎10 hours ago‎
A FLAMING object seen crashing into a mountain in central Queensland this morning is believed to be a meteorite or space junk. Police in four wheel drives ...Object crashes into mountain, explodes


Ninemsn - Emily O'Keefe - ‎10 hours ago‎
According to the The Courier Mail newspaper, witnesses saw "a bright flash and explosion" leading to speculation it could have been a meteorite or space ...