VLADIVOSTOK, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - A chunk of a meteorite has been stolen from a museum in the remote Magadan Region in Russia's Far East, a local Interior Ministry spokesperson said Saturday.

Anna Chak said thieves broke into a history museum in the village of Seimchan during the night and stole a part of the Seimchan meteorite.

"A check is now being conducted," the spokesperson said. She said the offenders may have been inspired by a recent TV program, which discussed the high value of meteorites on the country's black market.

The first pieces of the Seimchan meteorite, which weighs over 7 kilograms (15 pounds), were found in 1967 near the Seimchan gold mine in the Magadan Region.