Digha: Loud explosions off coast trigger panic

KOLKATA: The popular tourist destination of Digha was rocked by two back to back heavy sounds like something exploding on Saturday morning sending the tourists in a tizzy. The sounds were heard at around 11 am and the tourists who had thronged the Digha hotels came out in fear.

"I was in my room when suddenly there were two back to back explosion-like sounds. The windows of the hotel room started shaking. Initially, we thought it was an earthquake," Basudeb Pal, who had gone on a weekend tour from Kolkata said. Police from the Digha police station, Digha Mandarmani Coastal police station and the adjacent Ramnagar police station were pressed into service who searched the entire area thoroughly. Two fire engines and the disaster management team were also pressed into action to check whether there was any explosion or not. However, they could not find any sign of explosion on the plain land.

Those who were bathing at that time appeared more scared as they rushed to land as soon as the sounds were heard. As a precautionary measure, the police barred everyone from venturing into the sea. Announcements were made over microphones so that nobody gets into the sea.

"We are consulting different agencies like the Coast Guard to trace the origin of the sound," SP East Midnapore, Alok Rajoria said. It has been learnt that missiles were charged into the sea from Chandipur in Orissa. "This might have triggered the loud sound," a police officer added.