Meteor explodes over US with blast equivalent to 300 tons of TNT

A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the northeastern United States on Saturday, NASA said, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tons of TNT.

The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, the US space agency's deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told in a statement.

The meteor was traveling at 75,000 mph at an altitude of 40 miles when it broke apart, Dooren said. Area residents were alarmed by the unexpected loud booms, with social media users reporting they were so powerful that houses were shaking. The explosion blew out windows over 200 square miles, injuring more than 1,600 people, mostly due to broken glass.