Army investigates objects that dropped from the sky

Hanoi (VNA) - The military is investigating unidentified objects that fell from the sky in two northern provinces, Tuyen Quang and Yen Bai, said an army official on January 2.

Vietnam People’s Army Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lieut. Gen Vo Van Tuan denied that the strange objects came from the army as it “did not have any military operations in those areas before and during the time of the incidents.”

He said that so far there is no confirmation on what exactly the objects are and where they came from.

At about 7am on January 2, residents in Bao Dap and Tan Dong communes in Yen Bai reportedly heard what sounded like thunder, despite there being no signs of rain.

They later found a strange round object with a diameter of about 40cm lying on the ground in the garden of Tran Thi Loi in Hamlet 1.

Tuyen Quang Military Command Deputy Commander Tran Van Du said that the sphere in question were made of alloy material and weighed about 35 kilos.

“There are characters engraved on the surface of the sphere that are similar to Russian. It is still too soon to determine its origin,” he said.

Du said the sphere is not a bomb or made of explosive materials.

The object was completely sealed off, making it impossible to look at the inside. The echoes from knocking on its surface reportedly indicated that the sphere was probably empty.

Another metal piece weighing about 0.2 kilos was also found about five kilometers to Loi’s garden.

The piece was said to have hit a local house. No one was injured.

Meanwhile, residents in Tan My commune in Tuyen Quang, a neighbouring province to the east of Yen Bai, also heard three big explosion sounds around the same time on January 2 morning before discovering another strange round item in vacant land in Na Giang hamlet.

Tan My police said the sphere’s surface was metal and had a diameter of nearly 100cm.-VNA