Meteor-broken windows in Russian city being fixed

MOSCOW — Authorities in a Russian city say more than half of the acres of windows smashed in the city by an exploding meteor’s shock wave have been replaced.

Friday’s explosion, estimated to be equivalent to several atomic bombs, shattered glass in more than 4,000 buildings in Chelyabinsk and the surrounding region, leaving residents vulnerable in temperatures well below freezing.

About 1,200 people were injured, mostly by broken glass, with 40 still hospitalized Sunday, the ITAR-Tass news agency said, citing Emergency Ministry figures.

The Chelyabinsk city administration said in a Sunday statement that nearly 60 percent of the city’s broken windows had been replaced.

Pieces of the meteor are believed to have fallen into an ice-covered lake about 80 kilometers (50 miles) outside the city, but no fragments have been reported found.