PERUVIAN METEORITE: There is much discussion on the Internet today concerning a reported meteorite impact in Peru which may have gouged a 10- to 30-meter wide crater. Bad-smelling fumes from the crater are said to have sickened dozens and perhaps hundreds of people in a nearby village. Could this be true?

There is indeed a hole in the ground in Peru, pictured above, and by all accounts it smells bad, but it is not likely of cosmic origin. In order to blast a 30-meter crater, a meteorite would have to hit the ground with about as much energy as 1 kiloton of TNT--akin to a tactical nuclear weapon. This would leave a clear signal in worldwide seismic and infrasound records, but so far no such signals are being reported by authorities.

http://www.spaceweather.com/