A flaming meteor streaked over Hungary late Friday evening, according to eyewitness accounts on several websites.

Weather portal Idokep.hu put the meteor over Western Hungary at 9:46pm, based on eyewitness accounts by several hundred readers who watched it move across the sky for 3-4 seconds. A loud explosion could be heard near Lake Balaton a few minutes later.

The meteor was moving in a northeasterly direction, according to an eyewitness account posted on the homepage of the Nagykanizsa Amateur Astronomers Association, based in southwest Hungary. "It appeared so close that we almost started looking for the meteorite," the eyewitness said.

Other accounts posted online show the ball of fire was visible from Budapest and as far east as the city of Miskolc.