Bus driver 'killed by meteorite' in India

Tests are being carried out to determine if a meteorite caused the death of a man in India.

If confirmed it would be the first time a death of this nature has ever been recorded.

Indian scientists have begun examining remains of an object that fell from the sky after a man lost his life in Southern India on Saturday.

The 40-year-old man named Kamaraj, a local bus driver, was killed as a result of a large explosion at the Bharathidasan Engineering College that was said to be caused by a meteorite.

P. K. Senthil Kumari, the police chief in the Vellore district told news network CNN that the object struck the grounds of an engineering school at about midday Saturday, making a loud noise and leaving an impact crater about 60 cm wide.

Three other people on the college campus were injured.

Police recovered a piece of debris from the collision, which will be analysed by a scientist from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.

Witnesses said they did not know what happened, but saw a mysterious object fall from the sky.

Initial reports suggested the blast could be a bomb as it shattered the windows of a number of buses on the college campus.

The local state government, Tamil Nadu, released a statement about the incident describing it as a meteorite strike and offering 100,000 rupees in compensation to the victim's family- just over £1000.

In 2013, a large meteor exploded over the Russian region of Chelyabinsk producing a huge flash and shock wave.

The incident left more than 1,000 people injured but caused no fatalities.