http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_732000/732604.stm

Monday, 1 May, 2000, 16:26 GMT 17:26 UK

Mystery balls fall from the sky

Both the objects landed on farms South Africans are still wondering about the source of two unidentified falling objects which have crashed to the ground in the last few days.

The first of the objects landed on a farm near the town of Worcester, about 100km (60 miles) from Cape Town on Thursday - the second on a farm in Durbanville, on the outskirts of Cape Town, on Sunday.

Both are described as "big metal balls", the first weighing about 30kg (65 pounds) and the second about 50kg (110 pounds).

On Sunday police collected the first ball from the farm where it had landed.

Superintendent Andre Kellerman said the Department of Civil Aviation had asked the police to collect the object and to take statements from witnesses who had seen it fall.

"They want to investigate the object. The witnesses said it was white-hot when it landed. It appears to be solid iron and there is a section which contains bolts. I don't know what it could be," Superintendent Kellerman said.

'Gun shots'

Peter Viljoen, on whose land the ball fell, said farm workers had heard a noise like two loud gun shots, and had seen the shining ball falling to the earth.

The impact left an impression in the ground about 20cm (eight inches) deep.

It took more than half an hour before the object was cool enough to move, Mr Viljoen said.

The second object was bigger, about one metre (three feet) high and 1.5 metres (4.5 feet) long. It has a device resembling a valve at one end.

Once again, witnesses told of loud bangs as it landed.

The Star newspaper quotes astronomers as saying the balls could be parts of a decaying satellite, but could not say for certain until they had inspected them.

Nasa has predicted that parts of a Pegasus satellite would fall to earth, the astronomers told the newspaper.

-- viewer (justp@ssing.by), May 01, 2000

Answers

Metal balls from the sky? Hmmmm, I have it on good authority that these are drones used by the government to dispense chemtrails.

-- The Tall Man (mortuary@phantasm.moc), May 02, 2000.

We're all going to die.

-- FutureShock (gray@matter.think), May 02, 2000.

In the last days they will toss there gold , silver and metal balls in the street .

-- birddog (dog40856@aol.com), May 02, 2000.

Lends a whole new meaning to the idea of "Space Balls".

-- Duck (And@Cover.com), May 02, 2000.

Maybe they are "balls of redemption", warning of us what's to come Friday May 5, 2000 when some say catastrophic earth changes are supposed to begin.

Actually, I think that tomorrow the official word will be revised, and they will have turned out to be meteorites after all. That's what always happens here in the U.S. when people initially report objects as being "most definitely not a meteorite".

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), May 02, 2000.