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A fiery object struck farmland creating a large crater near a small town in northern Latvia. No-one was injured in the incident and geologists are now studying the object, which may be a meteorite. Locals claimed the object fell near a farmhouse on the outskirts of Mazsalaca town in the district of Valmiera last night.

It created a crater which measured 50 feet across and 16 feet deep. A witness who claimed to have seen the incident described the 'meteorite' as making a noise similar to the one of an aircraft flying at a low altitude.

ldis Nulle, a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center, said there was smoke coming out of the crater when he arrived at the crash site late Sunday in the Mazsalaca region near the Estonian border.

'My first impression is that, yes, it was a meteorite,' he said. 'All the evidence suggests this when compared to pictures of real meteorite craters.'

He said the rim of the crater was slightly raised and there was a black-grayish scar at the bottom - both signs of a meteorite impact. Experts outside Latvia said it was unusual for such a large meteorite to hit the Earth. The planet is constantly bombarded with objects from outer space, but most burn up in the atmosphere and never reach the surface.

In 2007, a meteorite crashed near Lake Titicaca in Peru, causing a crater about 40 feet (12 metres) wide and 15 feet (5 metres) deep.

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A telephone company Monday said it had dreamed up a purported meteorite strike in Latvia as a publicity stunt. A spokesman for the firm was quoted by the Leta news agency as saying the hoax had been meant to "inspire Latvia" and give the world a rest from the economic crisis headlines about the Baltic state's economic crisis.

He said the firm would reimburse the cash-strapped emergency services who had rushed to the scene. But Interior Minister Linda Murniece dubbed the stunt a "cynical mockery." Latvian authorities said the cost of calling out firefighters, police, the army and scientists was at least 2,000 lats ($4,250).

Earlier Monday, police had warned that they would launch a criminal investigation if the alleged meteorite strike near the small northern Latvian town of Mazsalaca was a hoax. It was not immediately clear if any charges would be filed against the company for wasting emergency services' time and money, following its admission.

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