A giant metal tube speculated to be part of an intercontinental ballistic missile has floated into a flooded village in western Siberia.

The object was spotted in the village of Malougrenyevo in Altay’s Biysky region, which has suffered severe flooding in recent days, and had left local bemused by what has appeared on their doorstep.

Wild speculation grew as to where the huge metal cylinder had come from, how dangerous it may be, and whether the government should own up to any dangers posed.

However, state news agency RT reports that the truth is much less exciting, and that while the cylinder is a fule container for an intercontinental ballistic missile, it did not fall form the sky.

The nearby Biysk chemical plant used to fill such containers with rocket fuel, but when the military reduced the order volume at the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, many of the containers were sold, and this one was bought by a local resident to store water.

The owners of the container are now considering putting it up for auction as it had become “famous”.