A loud thunderous sound was heard in many parts of Bengaluru on Wednesday (20 May) after at around 1:30pm, leaving people panicking and speculating what the thud was.

Soon after, many related hashtags were trending on Twitter with speculations and memes. While many claimed the sound to be that of an earthquake that might have hit the city, others called it the sonic sound of a fighter jet, probably Mirage 2000. People also claimed that they felt tremor like vibrations and that windows too paned.

However, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC) denied that any earthquake had hit Karnataka capital.

“Earthquake activity will not be restricted to one area and will be widespread. We have checked our sensors and there is no earthquake activity recorded today,” Bangalore Mirror quoted KSNDMC Director Srinivas Reddy as saying.

There has not been a confirmation over the other speculation that the sound could be of a ‘sonic boom’ from a fighter jet flying over the city. Bengaluru city Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said he had contacted the Indian Air Force Control Room to enquire about this.

“We have asked the Air Force Control Room to check if this was a flight,” Rao was quoted as saying by The News Minute.

He also said that no damage had been reported in the city. “No calls to 100 till now of any damage,” he said.

The noise, according to Bengaluru police, was heard from Kempegowda International Airport, Kalyan Nagar, MG road, Marathahalli, Whitefield, Sarjapur, Electronic city right up to Hebbagodi.