Sonic boom creates quake-like fear
Panic gripped the state as a loud blast heart around 10.15 am on Monday forced people rush out of their houses. Many feared a severe earthquake or a neighbourhood bomb blast.

The loud blast was heard in several places including Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Adalaj, Mansa, Baroda, Surendranagar and Kheda creating a ripple of fear since it was not immediately clear what caused it. The walled city of Ahmedabad was gripped with panic and people came out on roads fearing for their lives. People made frantic calls to the media, the police control room and the meteorological department to find out about the source of the blast. Even director general of police K.Chakravarthy and director of Meteorology R.K. Kankane were not aware about the origin of the blasts until noon.

It became clear much later when the Defence PRO wing commander Tarun Singha clarified around 1 pm that an IAF fighter aircraft had created a sonic boom when it flew at supersonic speed during a training flight.

Wing Commander Singha said that the sonic boom emanated in the skies when the IAF fighter jet flew from an airforce base in Gujarat and was part of the South West Air Command. IAF fighter pilots periodically undertake such supersonic flights as part of their flying training.

Mr Singha explained that when an aircraft flies at subsonic speeds, (below the speed of sound) and accelerates to a speed of Mach One there is disturbance in airflow in vicinity of the aircraft’s flight path leading to shock waves or ‘sonic boom’. This thunderous clap is heard as an explosion on the ground, he added.

However, in several areas in Ahmedabad, including Maninagar and Khanpur, window glasses developed cracks and rumours were rife that a bomb had exploded somewhere. Though nobody could pinpoint where an explosion had occurred different stories did the rounds in the city.

State police PRO Bipinchandra Yagnik said that since people in Gujarat had faced experienced disasters of all types in recent times it was normal that panic set in when a mysterious blast was heard.

In Ahmedabad, police mobile vans were sent across the city to pinpoint the blast, said a senior police officer. And the meteorology department was flooded with calls. Though it was clarified that it was not an earthquake, calls kept flooding till television channels explained that the source was an IAF aircraft.

Ms Shyama Shah, resident of Anjali flats in Vastrapur ran out of her house along with her family as she felt that a big explosion had occurred nearby.

Residents of Kothari Market at Kankaria also came out of building fearing a building collapse somewhere nearby. They didn’t enter the building for two hours and informed the police station nearby about the incident.

In Baroda panic scenes were seen in different parts of the city. In most areas people came out of their houses. The residents first thought it was some terrorist attack and later rumours spread that it was an earthquake. Situation became tense especially in the walled city areas where some rioting incidents were witnessed recently during Ganesh Chaturthi. In a number of schools students were asked to come out of the premises thinking that it was an earthquake.

"After one of the news channel flashed the news that it was a series of bomb blasts we were all scared. But later in the day we realised that it was the Air Force plane, which was behind the massive noise," said Mahesh Patel resident of Nagarwada area of the city. Soon after the incident SMSs were flashing on mobile phones spreading the news of the mysterious blast and seeking information.

(With inputs from Siddharth Baad in Ahmedabad and Anand Birai in Baroda)

Republished from The Asian Age