YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. An Indian bus driver has become the first man in recorded history to be killed after he was struck by a meteorite, sensational local reports have claimed, “Armenpress” reports.

The space rock crashed near an engineering college in Vellore, in Tamil Nadu state, where the 40-year-old man was standing, said local minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram.

In a statement, she added: 'A mishap occurred yesterday when a meteorite fell in the campus of a private engineering college.'

Witnesses told the New Indian Express how the driver was rushed to the hospital after being hit by 'splinters' of the so called meteorite, but died on the way.

The impact, which injured three, shattered the windows of nearby buses and buildings.

Meteor detection website ATLAS says it has 'no experience with asteroid fatalities' and 'death by asteroid' is extremely low risk. 

Jayaram announced that around £1,000 worth of compensation would be given to the family of the man killed in the suspected meteor strike.