Hundreds of residents of the Chelyabinsk region, where a meteor recently fell, are now engaged in a comprehensive search for pieces through the fields and the forests.

According to some reports, whole families are engaged in looking meteorite pieces in the area around the villages of Deputatsky and Pervomaysky. Experts say that it is not a complex task to spot meteorite fragments as it creates a small crater just like the home created by a mouse.

Scientists from the meteorite laboratory at the Russian Academy of Science are collecting samples in Chelyabinsk and have said that it's a good sign that many people have joined the effort as there are only a few more days are left with the good weather and then it would become much difficult to search for the pieces of space rock.

The meteorite weighing about 10 tonnes hit Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday and spread a panic wave across the region after the shockwaves shook buildings and smashed windows. Reports say that about 1,200 people were injured after the meteor exploded in the sky above Ural Mountains. Army units are already locating pieces of the meteorite in Chelyabinsk region and Tyumen region. Three aircrafts are also flying to identify the areas affected by the incidence.