Mystery Illness Strikes after Meteorite Hits Peruvian Village

Right out of the plot to a Sci-Fi movie comes this story from Peru:

Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.

Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.

Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a “strange odor,” local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.

Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized, Lopez said.

Granted when this happened on BBC’s new series Torchwood last week a gaseous alien came out of the rock, processed possessed a woman, shagged every man in sight and then turned them to dust when it consumed their energy at sexual climax. The story from Peru did not mention this behavior… yet.