An exceptionally bright "fireball" was spotted slicing through the sky over Finland before exploding over the country's border with Russia.

　　The phenomenon was witnessed by dozens of people in the eastern part of the country, the Finnish Astronomical Association (URSA) said Wednesday.

　　"Our mathematicians have roughly calculated that the (fireball) began its decent over our eastern border and ended in an explosion over the Russian Karelia region," URSA newsletter editor Marko Pekkola told AFP.

　　Closer calculations will be needed to determine the exact route taken by the "fireball", which was probably an incandescent meteorite, Pekkola added.