CHAKWAL: A blast caused by an aircraft breaking the sound barrier created panic on Tuesday.

The blast was heard at 10:50am. It was so powerful that doors and windows of houses and offices were shattered. The blast left citizens and law enforcement agencies confused and baffled.

Parents rushed to Government Degree College for Women where the atmosphere was already tense due to a news aired on a TV channel a few days ago that some armed men had tried to enter the college building.

“As many as 250 to 300 people gathered at the gate of the college due to the hoax caused by the blast,” Professor Maqsooda Sultana, the vice-principal of the college, told Dawn.

The parents and relatives started calling the college, theirs daughters and relatives to know about the situation while security forces also tried to find out the nature of the blast. Later, it was revealed that the blast was created by an aircraft when it broke the sound barrier. However, the district administration could not issue any statement to satisfy the residents.

A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shockwaves created by an object travelling through the air faster than the speed of sound.

DPO Dr Moeen Masood told Dawn: “A loud sound was heard which caused panic among the residents. We are trying to ascertain the exact nature of the blast. However, it looks like a sound barrier cross.”

A source at a nearby airbase confirmed to Dawn that the blast was caused by an aircraft when it broke the sound barrier.

Published in Dawn February 11th , 2015

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