Spaceship theory on nuclear explosion

Press, 16 October 1976, Page 8

Spaceship theory on nuclear explosion

NZPA-Reuter Moscow A mysterious explosion which devastated part of a frozen Siberian forest almost 70 years ago was probably nuclear in origin and may have been caused by an alien spacecraft, according to a Soviet geologist quoted yesterday by Tass, the Soviet news agency.

Dr Alexei Zolotov, who for 17 years has studied the explosion which rocked the forest in western Siberia, has just returned from his latest expedition to the area. “Our investigations in the course of 17 years seem to confirm our assumption that what took place was a nuclear explosion. So far there is not a single fact that would contradict our nuclear hypothesis,” he told the news agency.

Another theory for the blast is that a hurtling meteorite crashed into the Earth. No traces have been found of the meteorite, but some scientists say it may have vaporised on impact. Before the explosion on the morning of June 30, 1908, eyewitnesses reported that there was an almost blinding flash visible 500 miles away.

According to the Soviet Encyclopaedia, the crash uprooted tress, throwing them into a 20-mile radius around the point of impact, and left a heavy dust cloud which lasted several hours.

Asked by Tass whether a nuclear-powered spacecraft may have been responsible for the blast, Dr Zolotov said the possibility of Earth’s being visited oy intelligent beings from other worlds was “not entirely improbable. “It is from this point of view that we are exploring the possibility of the artificial origin of the cosmic body,” he said. On his latest expedition Dr Zolotov collected samples of permafrost soil dating from 1908 and traces of trees which survived the blast, and he hopes they will provide new evidence for his theory of an early nuclear blast.