Indian woman injured by ball of frozen human waste falling from a plane and striking her on the shoulder
Solid mass smashed into a nearby terrace before bouncing off and hitting Rajrani Gaud
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An Indian woman was left with injuries to her shoulder after being struck by football-sized chunk of frozen human waste that is believed to have fallen from an aeroplane.
Rajrani Gaud, who lives in the village of Aamkhoh in India’s Sagar district, was lucky to escape with her life after the solid mass of excrement and urine smashed into a nearby terrace before bouncing off and hitting her.
Experts say there are not exactly sure where the frozen block came from but said they will not rule out the possibility that an aeroplane toilet suffered a leak and allowed the human waste to escape and freeze as it fell to earth.
Eyewitness Deepak Jain told The Times of India: "I was only 25ft away from the spot where the monster came crashing down."
"Children and villagers witnessed the fall and then heard screams. We ran towards Rajrani’s house and referred her to hospital,"the schoolteacher added.
"The ice ball hit the roof first. Otherwise it would have smashed her skull," he went on to say.
Although India's civil aviation authority does not consider the incident serious enough to investigate, local scientists and researchers are now set to carry out their own investigation on the matter.
While incidents of human waste falling from planes remains rare, it is not without precedent. The substance even has a name – blue ice.
"Occasionally, the holding tank or drain tube develops a leak. If this happens at high altitudes, the water will freeze once it hits outside air," the US Federal Aviation Administration told MailOnline.
"However, if blue ice falls from an aircraft, the ice will usually break up and melt before it hits the ground. If the ice doesn't fall off, it will melt as the airplane descends for landing. Then it usually dissipates into small droplets," they added.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments