It’s not every day that a half-ton of space debris falls from the sky.
Still, officials in Kenya are now dealing with exactly that, as they’ve launched an investigation into fragments of metal that crashed into a village in the southern part of the country.
The Kenya Space Agency shared that the metal fragment is believed to have come from a rocket, as it was roughly 8 feet in diameter and around 1,100 pounds.
The metal chunk crashed into Mukuku village, in Makueni county, on Dec. 30 at around 3 p.m. local time, the KSA shared in its press release.
Space debris falling from the sky has become an increased hazard as of late, with the amount of space traffic rising.
The KSA said it is working with other agencies and local authorities to secure “the area and [retrieve] the debris, which is now under the Agency’s custody for further investigation.”
“Preliminary assessments indicate that the fallen object is a separation ring from a launch vehicle,” the agency shared.
The rings are meant to be designed to burn up upon reentry to Earth’s atmosphere or fall over uninhabited areas.
“This is an isolated case, which the agency will investigate and address,” the KSA said in a statement.
The origin of the debris is continuing to be investigated by authorities at this time. No injuries have been reported as a result of the debris falling.