Russia's authorities on Friday cautioned residents of the Urals to stay away from any unidentified objects after a meteor dramatically burned up above the region, with a precious meteorite apparently plunging into a local lake. "Russia's emergency ministry warns all residents of the Urals... not to approach unknown objects," the ministry said on its website, listing several numbers for people to use if they found something unusual.

A meteor shower rained down on central Russia on Friday, sowing panic as the hurtling space debris exploded in the air, blew out windows and left several people injured, officials and agencies reported. "A meteorite disintegrated above the Urals (mountain range in central Russia), partially burning up in the lower atmosphere," the local office of the national emergencies ministry said in a satement. "Fragments of the meteorite reached Earth, falling in sparsely populated areas in the Chelyabinsk region," it said.

A meteor shower caused explosions in the lower atmosphere above central Russia and the Urals region on Friday, blowing out windows and causing injuries, agencies reported, citing officials. "There was a meteor shower, without fragments falling to the ground. A meteorite exploded above the Chelyabinsk region (of the Urals). The shock wave blew out windows in several places," an emergencies ministry spokesman told the Interfax news agency. The interior ministry, quoted by the same agency, said some people had been injured by flying glass at a school in Chelyabinsk.