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Srinagar: A mysterious explosion ripped through a forest in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Friday (April 24), triggering a raging fire and speculations with the administration offering no explanation on what caused the blast.

Residents of Kishtwar’s Padder tehsil and its adjoining areas were shaken by the massive blast on Friday (April 24). around 3:20 PM, setting the rumour mills abuzz amid reports that an Indian Airforce fighter jet had crashed in the higher reaches of Afani village.

The blast occurred ahead of the first anniversary of ‘Operation Sindoor’, and the government – which had conducted mock drills and air-raid blackouts in parts of Jammu and Kashmir – quickly moved to quell the rumours of a fighter jet crash.

However, there was still no explanation on what caused the blast which set off a massive forest fire in Padder tehsil.

Kishtwar’s deputy commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma told state broadcaster Doordarshan that the site of the blast is a remote and hilly terrain, located some four kilometres away in the upper reaches of Afani village in Padder tehsil.

“When we got to know (about the explosion), we rushed our teams there who........

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