MYSTERY FIREBALL CRASHES IN NEW ZEALAND

Stories on the Associated Press and Reuters newswires said that a dazzling fireball lit up the sky over New Zealand on Friday evening, June 13, 1997 before falling to earth north of the capital city of Wellington on the North Island.

Eyewitness Astrid Burgess was driving home when she saw the object streak through the sky and crash into the nearby hills with a resounding boom. She says her first thought was , "Oh my God, it's a plane going down. They're going to die." Burgess said the object was glowing green and red and trailing smoke as it hit.

Responding to numerous similar reports, emergency crews searched the area that night but found nothing. An aerial search was scheduled for Saturday morning.

Police Inspector Pat O'Neill said that he was informed it was not a plane crash, but more likely either a meteor or falling space debris.

Original file name: CNI - New Zealnd Fireball

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