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- A search began yesterday for the remains of a large meteor
that exploded over New Zealand's North Island with enough force to shake
buildings, leaving a plume of blue smoke that covered hundreds of square
miles.
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- Falling debris from the meteor, which eyewitnesses said
was as bright as the sun, was blamed for starting a forest fire near Napier,
on the east coast. The spectacular explosion was seen by people on both
sides of the North Island and from as far north as Auckland to Christchurch
in the South Island.
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- Witnesses said the fireball had a long, fiery tail. Airline
pilots reported sightings and the meteor was picked up on radar by air-traffic
controllers. Rodney Austin, information officer for the New Zealand Astronomical
Society, said the meteor could have been as large as a railway locomotive.
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- One scientist said it could prove difficult to find in
New Zealand's rugged and sparsely populated landscape.
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