Telemetry device with ‘Malaysia Met Dept’ tag falls from sky in MP village; sparks panic

Residents of Markhandi village in Begamganj area, around 80 kms from the district headquarters, spotted the device falling from the sky on Wednesday evening, an official said.

Radiosonde is a battery-powered telemetry instrument carried into the atmosphere usually by a weather balloon that measures various atmospheric parameters.

“Locals found the device falling from the sky in a residential area of the village, which created panic among them and caused them to run away from their homes towards the agriculture fields. Considering it to be some suspicious instrument and fearing that it may cause harm, the villagers informed the police,” Begamganj Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) Sonal Gupta said.

Soon after being alerted, a police team reached the spot, secured the area and seized the device, she said.

As per the preliminary investigation, it was not an explosive but a radiosonde device used in meteorology, Gupta said.

“The device clearly bears the inscription ‘Malaysia Meteorological Department’ on it, which indicates that it is of Malaysian origin,” the SDOP added.

Police believe it travelled thousands of kilometers to India (from Malaysia) due to strong winds and jet stream in the upper atmosphere.

They have appealed to villagers not to touch any such device if they find any, and immediately report to the police.

Radiosonde is a vital instrument for atmospheric data collection. It uses hydrogen-filled balloons, which record atmospheric pressure, temperature, wind direction, and speed approximately 15-20 kilometers above the earth’s surface and transmit the data via radio signals.

Officials said such balloons often fall hundreds of kilometers from the launch point.