CHELYABINSK, Russia – A Canadian living in the biggest city affected by the meteor that streaked over Russia’s Ural Mountains says he was terrified at first.
Saskatoon native Michael Garnett, who plays hockey for the KHL, says he was jolted out of bed by a tremendous blast that shook his apartment building.
When he looked out the window, he says he saw a bright streak across the sky.
The 31-year-old initially thought there had been a plane crash or a bomb blast, but later learned what happened when he drove to hockey practice less than a hour later.
He saw buildings with windows blown out and says the arena his team plays in was damaged as well.
The Russian Academy of Sciences says the meteor entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of at least 54-thousand kilometres per hour and shattered about 40 kilometres above the ground.
The fall caused explosions that broke glass over a wide area.
Officials say more than 500 people sought treatment after the blasts — mostly for cuts from broken glass — and that 34 of them were hospitalized.
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