Mysterious tremor felt in Corsica thought to be caused by meteorite
What sounded like an explosion was heard as far away as Italy
The tremor was felt close to Bastia, in the east of the island
Eva Bocek/Shutterstock
An unexplained tremor that struck the French island of Corsica was likely a meteor entering the earth’s atmosphere, according to experts.
The tremor, accompanied by what sounded like a huge explosion, was felt on the afternoon of Thursday, June 20.
It rattled windows in areas along the eastern coast of the island, according to local residents, and was felt as far away as Tuscany in Italy.
“The most plausible hypothesis is that a small asteroid-type object entered the atmosphere and then exploded… what we call an “air burst” or an atmospheric explosion,” Jérôme Gattacceca, director of research at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), told Corse Matin .
Tuscany’s Geophysics Institute and the University of Florence said whatever caused the sonic boom was travelling at 400 miles (640km) per second, AFP reported.
“It was more of an explosion than an earthquake. In Biguglia, the windows and doors on the east and south/east sides vibrated like an explosion,” wrote one resident on X.
The tremor was initially thought to be an earthquake or a sonic boom caused by a jet engine. Italian authorities reported a possible earthquake before ruling out that possibility.
Corsica’s fire and rescue centre received around 10 calls from the Bastia region about the incident, local media report.
In Chelyabinsk, Russia, a more powerful meteor air burst in 2013 caused shockwaves that blew out windows in homes over a 320 square kilometre area.
