Man sells meteorite that crashed through his roof for millions

A man had a meteor crash through his roof. Now he's a millionaire.

Josua Hutagalung was stunned when a space rock crashed into his home in Kolang, Indonesia. Hutagalung was working outside when the meteor smashed through his veranda next to the living room. It managed to bury itself 15cm deep in the soil.

The meteor turned out to be 4.5 billion years old, weighing 2.1kg, boasting a price tag of £1.4 million.

It was classified as an extremely rare CM1/2 carbonaceous Chondrite.

The meteor was bought by a specialist collected for the equivalent to 30 years' salary.

Talking of his newfound wealth, Hutagalung said he wanted to use it to build a church in his community.

"I have also always wanted a daughter," he told The Sun, saying he saw the meteor as a "sign that I will be lucky enough now to have one".

Three other fragments of the meteor were also found nearby.

After it was bought from a collector in Indianapolis, the meteorite was shipped to the US.

Jared Collins, a meteorite expert from America, who bought part of the rock, said: "My phone lit up with crazy offers for me to jump on a plane and buy the meteorite.

"It was the middle of the Covid crisis and frankly it was a toss-up between buying the rock for myself or working with scientists and collectors in the US.

"I carried as much money as I could muster and went to find Josua, who turned out to be a canny negotiator."

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