A huge, red-hot object fell from the sky into a Kenyan village on Monday afternoon according to local residents cited by the country’s national broadcaster, prompting an immediate investigation by the national space agency.
The object has since been identified as a “fragment of a space object,” the Kenya Space Agency said in a statement Wednesday.
The KSA said it has taken custody of the object that landed in the remote village of Mukuku, in the southern county of Makueni, describing it as apparent space junk measuring 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) wide and weighing 500 kg (about 1,100 pounds).
“The Agency wishes to clarify that the object, a metallic ring measuring approximately 2.5 meters in diameter and weighing about 500 kg is a fragment of a space object,” the KSA said.
Preliminary assessments suggest it is a separation ring from a rocket, the agency said, noting that space debris more typically falls into the ocean or burns up before entering Earth’s atmosphere.
The fallen object is likely an isolated case and is still under investigation, it added.
Julius Rotich, Mbooni Sub County Police Commander, told the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation that the object was still hot when officers arrived Monday, and that residents had to be cordoned off from the area until it cooled down.
The broadcaster showed images of police tape wrapped around the ring, which had fallen into some trees and brush, as residents gathered around.
The KSA is analyzing the object and working to confirm where exactly it came from, it said.