Russia recovers meteorite from the bottom of Lake Chebarkul.

The Aleut company, based in Ekaterinburg, has won the bid to salvage the giant meteorite that fell into Lake Chebarkul in Chelyabin province, Russia, in mid-February this year.

According to the plan, Aleut will invest approximately 1.67 million rubles (over $50,000) in activities related to salvaging the Chelyabin asteroid. The salvage operation is expected to begin in September of this year and last for 29 days.

A massive meteorite fell into Lake Chebarkul. (Source: rt.com)

On February 15th, a meteorite nearly 15 meters in diameter and weighing approximately 7,000 tons entered the atmosphere at a speed of 64,000 km/h and exploded at an altitude of 19-24 km above the ground, causing a meteor shower over the Chelyabin, Tyumen, Kyrgan, and Sverdlovsk provinces, as well as many localities along the Ural Mountains.

More than 1,200 people in the aforementioned localities were injured, including 50 who required hospitalization. Material damage is estimated at over 1 billion rubles (over 33 million USD).

Immediately after the explosion, residents in Chelyabin province found many fragments of the meteorite; however, scientists believe that the meteorite lying at the bottom of Lake Chebarkul is the largest part of this "visitor from space."

According to (VNA) - VT