Four houses were damaged and one person was injured in West Burdwan's Jamuria on Thursday morning after an iron wheel flew out of a machine at a nearby factory at high speed and then split into pieces.

Initially, people thought that a meteorite had hit the locality. They ran helter-skelter in panic.

"My daughter Jhulan was playing in the courtyard of our house when one object suddenly came crashing down. She fell on the ground while trying to escape. She was injured," said Amar Badyakar, 45.

Another resident of Akalpur village, Anil Badyakar, 42, said the tiled roof of his house was broken after the iron object fell on it.

Later, a large police contingent arrived and cordoned off the area. After an investigation, it was found that the iron wheel of a motor at a nearby rolling mill on the Ikra industrial estate had come loose and flown out at high speed around 9am.

"The iron wheel later broke and split into three pieces before hitting the houses," a police officer said.

Later, people demonstrated outside the private factory and blocked the local road demanding compensation for the damage. The agitation was lifted after the management of the rolling mill admitted the responsibility for the accident and promised to do all needful.