Mysterious sound in Odisha, IMD says no earthquake

Bhubaneswar: A sudden unexplained loud sound on Wednesday flummoxed the people and created fear among them in Jajpur, Bhadrak and parts of Keonjhar district of Odisha.

The state government and the police are clueless about the sound, which was akin to a huge explosion.

“We have no input on the sound that frightened people in the three districts as reported in media,” a senior police official told PTI.

The Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, said it has no information on any earthquake in Odisha.

“There is no information regarding any earthquake in Odisha. According to the National Centre of Seismology, only one earthquake was reported early on Wednesday morning in Maharastra. Odisha was not in the list,” said Uma Shankar Das, a senior weather scientist at the Met centre here.

The people of the three districts rushed out of their houses on hearing the sound and found nothing outside.

"There was no earthquake or sign one," said Ashok Das of Bhadrak.

The people in Jajpur and Anandapur in Keonjhar district too recounted similar experiences.

A senior official revenue and disaster management department official said some people suspect that the sound might have come from mine areas where heavy explosives are being used for blasts.

The reason for the blast is yet to be ascertained, he said.