Shocking: Meteorite Crashes From the Sky, Kills Bus Driver and Injures Three Others (See Details)

A meteorite has crashed into a college campus, killing one and sending people into utter panic about a recurrence. 

The site of the unfortunate incident

A bus driver may have become the first man to be killed by a meteorite in nearly 200 years after he was struck dead in a university campus.

Mirror Online reports that the victim was standing on a patch of grass near the cafeteria of the college in Vellore in Tamil Nadu in India when the space rick hit him. He died on his way to hospital. Two gardeners and a student were also injured by the falling object, officials said.

A dark blue stone resembling a diamond was found at the scene. Scientists are now investigating whether a meteorite was indeed behind the 40-year-old's death.

If proved, it will be the first case of anyone killed by an asteroid since 1825.

Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, confirmed the man had been killed and said his family had been compensated.

She said: "A meteorite fell within the college premises. The man sustained serious injuries and died while on the way to the hospital".

Government officials at first suspected the blast was caused by explosives accidentally left after building work. However, investigations found no evidence of explosive material at the site.

"When no evidence of explosive material was found, we moved to the theory that it might be a meteorite," said a district official who asked not be named. "It is not confirmed yet as samples need to be analysed."

A team from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics was expected to visit on Tuesday to collect samples. G. Baskar, the principal of the college, was working in his study when he heard an explosion.

"It was a sound like nothing I've ever heard before," he said. "There was no smell at all, no fire, nothing."

Simon Goodwin, an astrophysics expert from Britain's University of Sheffield, said meteorite deaths were rare because the rocks usually burn up when passing through the Earth's atmosphere or land in the ocean or hit remote areas.