Mystery surrounds loud sound that rattled Bengaluru as officials rule out earthquake

A loud sound rattled windows and shocked residents in parts of south and south west Bengaluru with officials ruling out an earthquake though there was no clarity on whether the sound was a sonic boom.

Hundreds of people took to social media to record their experience of the sound at around 12.15 pm. From HAL in the east to JP Nagar in south to Rajarajeshwari Nagar in the west and many other areas, many reported that windows rattled and came up with several theories, from a transformer blast to earthquake.

Officials from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said their broadband seismograph has not recorded any earthquake. "The seismograph is able to record ground vibrations, even those caused by a quarry, within 10 km distance. From what we hear, the sound doesn't seem to be related to earthquake as no ground vibrations have been recorded," a senior official told DH.

Police, after a preliminary verification, ruled out the possibility of an explosion causing the sound. "We don't have clear information yet. However, going by the past experience, it looks like a sonic boom," an officer of the DCP rank told DH.

The HAL, on its part, said it couldn't comment on the issue. "Regular sorties of fighters and trainers take place from HAL airport. Today was no different. HAL can't comment on the loud noise reportedly heard today in Bengaluru," said Gopal Sutar, Spokesperson, HAL.

This is the third time such an incident has been recorded in Bengaluru. The first incident was reported in 2018 when people in several parts of south Bengaluru had reported the sound. The mystery of the second boom in May 2020 was resolved late in the night when the Defence Department clarified that it was caused by a sonic boom.

A spokesperson for the department, however, said Friday's sound was not caused by planes from Air Force. "We have been told that none of the aircraft of ASTE were flying at that time," the spokesperson said.