A massive metal ring fell from the sky in Kenya.

The fall of the ring did not cause any destruction. Residents of the village where it occurred reported that the ring was glowing red hot, and its landing was accompanied by a loud sound that could be heard several kilometers away.

In a statement from the Kenyan Space Agency, it was indicated that the object is likely a part of a launch vehicle. Typically, such objects are expected to burn up upon re-entering the denser layers of the atmosphere or fall in uninhabited areas, such as the ocean. The agency has initiated an investigation into the incident.

Kenyan broadcaster NTV reports that the most probable "owner" of the ring is a rocket launched by the Indian Space Research Organization on December 30 from the spaceport on Sriharikota Island. The space agency has already contacted Indian authorities, informing them that if its suspicions are confirmed, Nairobi will seek compensation from New Delhi.

• As interplanetary technology advances, the need to address the issue of space debris is becoming increasingly urgent. In October of last year, at a UN meeting on the coordination of space traffic, experts stated that urgent action is needed to identify and manage the movements of numerous objects in low Earth orbit. According to estimates from the European Space Agency, there are currently hundreds of thousands of items and their debris weighing more than 14 thousand tons in that orbit.

More news from Radio Free Europe: