Holy shit. Space Shuttle Columbia Feared Crashed in Texas

Television images showed several white trails in the blue sky, which could be an indication of the breakup of the shuttle because normally only a single trail is visible. Officials immediately warned about the possibility of toxic debris in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The U.S. space agency said it scrambled rescue units to search in Texas for the shuttle and its astronauts, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, Col. Ilan Ramon. There was no immediate indication of any foul play, officials said.

A NASA spokesman said the agency lost contact with the shuttle, which was completing a 16-day mission, at around 9 a.m. while it was 207,000 feet above the Earth, and 16 minutes out from its scheduled landing at Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites).

It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.

NASA would say only that it had declared a "contingency" and that search and rescue units had been scrambled to search for any wreckage.