An unidentified object fell this Saturday around noon about 50 meters from the Purgatorio River bridge, in the municipality of Pilón, Granma province, and local authorities are working to preserve it and conduct scientific analysis.
According to journalist Marisela Presa on her Facebook profile, the object was found still smoldering by a group of young people who were in the area, who picked it up and handed it over to the local authorities.
Witnesses described that the object bounced about three times upon falling and was red in color, characteristics consistent with a high-temperature impact.
Regarding its size, preliminary data indicates that the fragment is approximately the size of an almond, with a dark appearance and a rough surface.
A video shared in the Facebook group "Revolico Pilón" shows two dark objects on dry ground, with the surrounding area being reddish, suggesting that the impact generated considerable heat. The person filming the scene exclaimed: "That fell from the sky... it's releasing gas and a strong odor."
Marta Digno, president of the Municipal Assembly of the People's Power of Pilón, confirmed the events and provided two images of the object to Presa, who specified that the local MININT already has the piece under custody while procedures for its protection and study are being carried out.
Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of the National Seismological Service and technical director of CENAIS (National Center for Seismological Research), described the event as a “possible meteorite fall in Pilón” and emphasized the importance of preserving the evidence: “It's crucial to preserve the site, to avoid touching anything so that it can be studied and the sample analyzed.”
At the moment, there is no official scientific confirmation that the object is indeed a meteorite; investigations are ongoing.
The verification process in Cuba combines seismic signals from CENAIS, eyewitness testimonies, satellite data, and mineralogical and chemical laboratory analyses. A meteorite can only be certified when multiple pieces of evidence coincide.
If confirmed, it would be the sixth meteorite scientifically recorded in Cuba. The five recognized cases to date occurred in Las Canas, Artemisa (1844); Bacuranao, in Havana (1974); Santa Isabel de las Lajas, Cienfuegos (1994); Viñales, Pinar del Río (2019), and Ramón de las Yaguas, in Santiago de Cuba (2021).
One of the most recent and widely publicized events was in Viñales, where CITMA confirmed the fall of an L6 ordinary chondrite that fragmented into several pieces; the largest measured about 11 centimeters. In November 2024, a possible fall in Matanzas was investigated, but it could not be confirmed due to the absence of fragments found on the ground.
The scientific community is awaiting the results of the analysis of the object recovered in Pilón to determine if Cuba adds a new chapter to its meteoric history.
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