A loud sound heard around 3.15 p.m. on Thursday brought residents out of their homes in Konanakunte, Banashankari, Nagarabhavi, Jayanagar, Uttarahalli, and BTM Layout, among other areas in south Bengaluru.
Regional television channels began attributing this to an earthquake, but the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNMDC) confirmed that no tremors were recorded at the earthquake observatory in Tippagondanahalli.
Vasudeva Sharma, a resident of Konanakunte, said that the windows and doors of his house began rattling following the sound.
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“It lasted for just a few seconds and was followed a strong gust of wind. We rushed out; many of my neighbours had also rushed out of their homes,” he said, adding that a similar sound was reported in the city around 10 years ago.
A resident of ISRO Layout, Radhika S., said she had heard what sounded like a transformer blast. “But we ruled that out as there was power supply. My friend in Uttarahalli and my parents who live in Banashankari 6th Stage also heard it.”
Shailaja Sudhir, a resident of BTM Layout 2nd Stage, thought it was a dynamite blast. “It did not sound like thunder... we assumed it was dynamite, as many apartments are being constructed here,” she said.
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A senior official from KSNMDC said they would investigate the matter. C.N. Prabhu, an official, said such loud sounds are reported in north interior Karnataka during summer and in the Western Ghats during monsoon. “The loud sound in these cases could be the release of trapped gas from cavities in the ground. However, we will be able to confirm this only after an investigation,” he said.