TIRUPUR: A deafening mysterious sound wave created panic among residents of Tirupur city and surrounding areas including Dharapuram and Kundadam in the district at 10.40 am on Thursday morning.
Villagers thought the sound might have been caused by an explosion, but the origin and cause of it is yet to be known. It rocked a 20 sq km radius and created panic among residents in the region.
Children ran out onto the streets in several places gripped by fear. The intensity was especially high in Dharapuram town and villages near it, but no tremors were felt. Residents of Mulanur and some areas near Kangeyam also heard the sound.
Tirupur District Superintendent of Police Disha Mittal also confirmed this and said, "I too heard a deafening sound around 10.30 am. But could not comprehend the origin of the noise. It could be a fighter plane from Sulur Airbase."
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Tamil Nadu Science Forum (Tirupur) co-ordinator A Eswaran said we have heard a similar sound last year around September.
"At that time, a contractor had detonated a mild explosive to break the rocks inside the quarry in the areas near Sivan Malai in Kangeyam. But the sound was too heavy this time. None of us were able to find the source of the origin this time. Since no quarries are operated, it is difficult find the reason," he added.
"I believe this could be due to the sonic boom caused by any fighter plane from Sulur Airbase near Coimbatore. This happens, when a plane travels farther than the speed of sound, creating shockwaves in the atmosphere and could be misunderstood by locals," he explained.
Tirupur district collector K Vijaya Karthikeyan requested public not to be alarmed by the mysterious sound or spread rumours.
"The loud sound that was heard today morning across various parts of Tirupur was most likely a sonic boom caused by a Supersonic Tejas Aircraft," he said in a tweet.
A similarly mysterious sound was heard in Bengaluru on May 20 and it was later found to have been caused by the test flight of an IAF fighter jet triggering a sonic boom.
It should be noted that the Air Force Station, Sulur in Coimbatore, which already has a Tejas squadron (No. 45 squadron), operationalised its second Tejas squadron (No. 18 squadron) on Wednesday.
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