NEW DELHI, Aug 1: A meteor shower in the skies over western India prompted a hunt for celestial debris on Tuesday after witnesses spoke of a ‘great flash’. The authorities in Gujarat state’s Kutch region dispatched teams to collect evidence after the event was seen clearly over three heavily-populated districts of the state late Monday.

Kutch district administrator Dhananjay Dwivedi reported that five small “rocks” had been picked up after the celestial event which prompted people to rush to sites where debris was believed to have fallen.

Witnesses spoke of feeling or hearing a big thud as if a meteorite hit the earth while others reported seeing streaks of red and yellow light falling from the sky. “People reported seeing (a) single great flash at 9:45 pm when the skies were clear,” Pradeep Sharma, chief administrator of nearby Rajkot district, said. — AFP