Asteroid that eradicated dinosaurs not a one-off, say scientists

Scientists estimate that the asteroid struck Earth at nearly 45,000mph. Photograph: Science Photo Library/Alamy

The massive asteroid that brought about the end of the reign of the dinosaurs when it crashed into Earth 66m years ago was not a one-off, researchers say.

Detailed scans of an underwater crater off the coast of Guinea in West Africa suggest that it was created when another large asteroid smashed into the planet around the same time at the end of the Cretaceous period.