REMEMBER THE GIANT meteorite that hit Russia in February?

It hit the Chelyabinsk region of the Russian Urals and 1,600 people were injured by the shock wave from the explosion, which was believed to be as strong as 20 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

A file photo provided by Chelyabinsk.ru of a meteorite contrail seen over the Ural Mountains’ city of Chelyabinsk. Pic: AP Photo/Chelyabinsk.ru, Yekaterina Pustynnikova

In February, it smashed into the then-frozen Chebarkul Lake. Now that the lake has thawed out, scientists say they have recovered what could be the largest part of the meteorite from the lake.

They said scales showed it weighed at least a hefty 1,256 pounds – although the giant steelyard balance used to weigh it broke right after it displayed that number.

Sergei Zamozdra, an associate professor at Chelyabinsk State University, told Russian television the excavated fragment was definitely a chunk of the meteorite.

(TheBadAstronomer/YouTube)

- Additional reporting from Associated Press

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