The fall of the object caused curiosity and concern in the small community, but, to the relief of residents, there were no fatal accidents or injuries.
A shiny metallic ring, more than 2.4 meters in diameter and weighing more than 500 kilograms, fell from the sky and hit a remote village southeast of Kenya’s capital on Monday afternoon, causing panic among residents.
The object, known as the separation ring, is “space debris from a launch rocket”, said the Kenya Space Agency, .
“Usually, these objects catch fire upon re-entering the atmosphere or fall into unoccupied areas,” the institution added, describing the incident as “an isolated case”.
Joseph Mutua, a local resident, described the moment he heard the bang. “I looked around, I couldn’t see any smoke in the clouds. I went to the side of the road to check if there had been a car accident, but there was no collision,” he told
It was then that Mutua and his neighbors spotted the large, shiny object.
Uncertainty and fear gripped the small community after the fall of the separation ring. “If the object had fallen on a rural property, it would have been catastrophic,” lamented Mutua.
“Since that object fell, we haven’t slept. Everyone is wondering what happened,” the man added to local media.
So far, no deaths or injuries have been recorded.
