CUDDALORE: After cyclone Thane, people in this worst-affected district are scared of all types of strange noises. The sound from a low-flying fighter aircraft was enough to send people into a tizzy in various places on Monday.People of Kullanchavadi and Kurinjipadi claimed to have heard two loud explosions at around 12 pm. Speculation was rife that it was an earthquake or a helicopter crash and villagers ran out of their homes to investigate. Rumours spread that the chopper had crashed into a lake and youth from S Puthur, Ramapuram, Subramaniyapuram villages went to Perumal Lake to check whether there was a crash.In the mean time, rumours spread that a 4.5-magnitude earthquake had struck. Worried parents rushed to the schools to fetch their wards. “Even though we had not heard the explosions, parents thronged our school and insisted we let their kids go,” Veera Doss, correspondent of John Dewey School in Panruti said. Media persons were constantly barraged with inquiries and many of them travelled to the villages to locate the source of the noise. Finally at 1.30 pm, Collector Rajendra Ratnoo held a press meet where he said he had made inquiries with the Home Ministry and the Air Force. “People need not panic because it was a sonic boom caused by a supersonic Sukhoi fighter jet, which flew below its normal altitude of 20,000 ft,” he said, putting to rest all rumours.
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