video transcript

New footage of a meteorite exploding across the sky over the Russian region of Cheliabinsk near the Ural mountains. Amateur videos continue to emerge days after the meteorite struck the area, damaging buildings, shattering glass and sending more than 1,000 to hospital with cuts and scrapes. Search teams have descended on Lake Cherbarkul, where the meteorite crashed Friday, to look for remains, but have been unable to find any large pieces so far. Residents have also joined the search and claim to have found a few fragments themselves. The Russian space agency said the fireball was travelling 30 km per second and although it did not kill anyone, the meteorite caused around $33 million in damage. This prompted scientists on Monday to discuss the possibility of an early warning system for the planet that would encompass telescopes and anti-asteroid missiles. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VLADIMIR LIPUNOV, HEAD OF THE SPACE MONITORING LABORATORY WITH MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "How many telescopes do we need? That depends on the field of view. It is now possible to build telescopes of 4 to 8 square degrees. We need 10 to 20 telescopes around the Earth, dozens of them." NASA estimates the meteorite was 17 metres across and weighed about 10,000 tonnes before entering Earth's atmosphere and exploding with nuclear bomb force.