CNN and other sources are reporting that a meteor appeared in the sky above Russia's Urals region Friday morning before exploding. According to reports, the explosion shattered glass in buildings and injured hundreds.
As of noon Moscow time, as many as 725 people had sought medical help, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
Deputy Health Minister Igor Kagramanyan said 571 people had sought medical help, with 34 of them hospitalized, according to state-news agency Itar-Tass. The number of injured continues to rise as new reports come in from across a wide area, but most of the injuries are not thought to be serious.
The national space agency, Roscosmos, said scientists believed one meteoroid had entered the atmosphere, where it burned and disintegrated into fragments. The resulting meteorites are believed to be scattered across three regions of Russia, one of them Chelyabinsk, as well as neighboring Kazakhstan. One large chunk was reportedly discovered in a lake in the Chelyabinsk region.
About 270 buildings have sustained damage - mostly broken glass - as a result of the shock waves caused by the blast, said Vladimir Stepanov, of the National Center for Emergency Situations at the Russian Interior Ministry.
The explosion occurred about 9:20 a.m. local time, as many people were out and about.