The mayor of Lebanon's Al-Talil city, Joseph Mansour, debunked reports on an alleged "meteorite" spotted in Akkar province earlier on Sunday, saying that it was a firecracker.
“What was suspected to be a meteorite, turned out to be one of the celebration fireworks (an arrow of firecrackers) that are lit and fired into the sky, and because of the speed of its movement due to the speed of the wind, people thought it was a meteorite, [...] especially because it caused a small fire in the meadow where it fell,” Mansour detailed, cited by state-run National News Agency of Lebanon.
Social media users immediately shared video and photos of the alleged "meteorite", showing a red shining object slowly falling down from the sky.
Earlier, locals in northern Lebanon were reported to have been surprised by what was at first thought to be a falling meteor, calling it a strange phenomenon. According to reports, the "meteorite" landed in the plains, setting local plantations on fire.