A screenshot of a homemade video of the object soon after it impacted the ground.

RIGA — A large, fiery crater in northern Latvia may not be a meteorite but a hoax instead.

Officials from the State Fire & Rescue Service said Monday that the Latvian military has examined the object, which appears to be rock-like, and found that radiation levels are normal.

Inga Vetere, a spokeswoman for the service, told Baltic Reports that it wasn’t clear whether the object was a meteorite and that geologists would have to make a final determination. An official from the geology faculty of the University of Latvia said that a group of scientists was headed to the site, located in the Mazsalaca region not far from the Estonian border, and would work there until mid-afternoon.

The suspected meteor landed near the northern Latvian town Mazsalaca. Image by Google Maps.

Vetere said the rescue service was informed about a “fiery object” entering the atmosphere at 5.30 p.m. on Sunday evening. The resulting crater measures some 15 meters wide and 5 meters deep. She said police have cordoned off the area and are waiting for the scientists to arrive. Meteorites are rare occurrences, and only one in a thousand rocks that people claim to be meteorites actually to be such, according to scientists.

Homemade video of site of crater (WARNING: contains profanity):