NEW DELHI, 2 August 2006 - A meteor shower in the skies over western India prompted a hunt for celestial debris on Tuesday after witnesses spoke of a "great flash".

The authorities in Gujarat state's Kutch region dispatched teams to collect evidence after the event was seen clearly over three heavily-populated districts of the state late Monday.

Kutch district administrator Dhananjay Dwivedi reported that five small "rocks" had been picked up after the celestial event which prompted people to rush to sites where debris was believed to have fallen.

Witnesses spoke of feeling or hearing a big thud as if a meteorite hit the earth while others reported seeing streaks of red and yellow light falling from the sky.

"People reported seeing [a] single great flash at 9:45 pm when the skies were clear," said Pradeep Sharma, chief administrator of the nearby Rajkot district

"The flash was reported from three counties and we have sent scouts to the areas for fallen debris, if any. Scientists from the Geological Society of India are arriving [to look] for any foreign objects," said Sharma.

"We are also conveying to the people not to pick up alien objects so that the scientists can see the manner in which they came to earth."

Jamnagar district residents also saw the shower.

"It was first a single pin of light which in less than a second expanded into a great light and then poof! The light went off," said Babulal Patel, a district administration employee, speaking from Jamnagar.

Every year tens of thousands of objects pepper the Earth, with some strong enough to withstand the fiery entry into the atmosphere and land on the surface.