Huge Balls of Fire Light Up Spanish Sky

Was it a brightly shining star leading the present-laden three kings to the homes of millions of children at today's Epiphany, Spain's biggest gift-giving day of Christmas?

As police scoured a remote mountainous district of the northern León province yesterday for remnants of a large, brilliant, burning object that fell to earth on Sunday, the most likely explanation was that it was part of a meteor.

The search concentrated near Renedo de Valderaduey after neighbours saw a huge ball of white fire passing close overhead before crashing into nearby mountains.

Some reported up to five explosions. "The ground shook, everything shook," said one.

Police expected to find a crater caused by a meteor of up to 100 tonnes that may have broken up as it shot across the skies. Experts said it might have been the size of a small house.

Emergency services were alerted by people who reported balls of fire leaving smoke trails across the sky. Some blamed small country fires in Lugo, in the north-west, and Castellón on smaller fireballs.

Football fans in Santiago de Compostela, north-west Spain, including José Angel Docobo, a university astronomer, also saw a big fireball. He said: "It must have been pretty big if we were able to see it by daylight."

Scientists said it had been travelling between 12 and 30 miles a second.

Epiphany, the 12th day after Christmas, is a public holiday in Spain and marks the day a star is supposed to have led the three wise men to Bethlehem.