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CNN Today

Scientists Seek to Explain 22-Pound Ice Balls Falling on Southern Spain

Aired January 19, 2000 - 2:24 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: And this piece from our Department of the Unexplained. You've heard of hail the size of golf balls, bigger than baseballs, you know. Wait until you see what's falling on Spain.

Reporter Al Goodman is in Madrid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a winter mystery in sunny Spain: Ice balls and clumps of ice have fallen out of the sky, mostly in southern Spain, in the past 10 days. They weigh up to 10 kilos, or 22 pounds, and some look like icy basketballs or melons. No one has been injured so far, but one ice ball smashed into a parked car near Seville. Two others damaged rooftops elsewhere in Spain. Scientists, in their search for an explanation, so far have come up cold, but they have ruled out massive hail stones while focusing on three possibilities: ice that came loose from an airplane fuselage, some unusual weather conditions or stray ice from a passing comet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There are a lot of arguments against thinking these ice balls are coming from debris from comets. For instance, a piece of ice cannot travel through space, because it will melt very quickly.

GOODMAN: A few years ago, a similar ice ball in Spain was determined to have dropped from an airplane, but this time, several airlines say they are not to blame. There is a clear answer for at least 10 of the ice balls. Scientists say they were pranks, made in freezers or from mountain ice and placed outside as if they had fallen from the sky. Scientists promise to shed some light on the mystery later this week.

Al Goodman for CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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