Powerful blast creates crater in village near India-Pak border in J&K's Kathua

A massive crater formed after a powerful blast at a village near the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district has triggered fear among the locals, officials said on Thursday.

Sources said it appeared to be an IED blast. It is suspected that the IED might have been carried by a drone and dropped at the wrong site close to the border, they said.

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Information about the explosion was received around 9.30 pm on Wednesday, SSP Kathua Shivdeep Singh Jamwal told PTI. 

"We have also launched a search operation Thursday morning. The bomb squad has collected the samples from the site and sent them for tests," the SSP said.

Block Development Committee (BDC) chairman Ram Lal Kaliya, a resident of Saniyal village, which is just 300 metres from the border post, said, "Around 9.30 pm on Wednesday, we heard an explosion. I informed the post in charge who also confirmed the sound of the blast."

The blast site was located after one-and-half hours, he said, adding that a big crater was found in an agriculture field. 

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• IED blast
• India-Pakistan border
• Jammu and Kashmir
• Kathua district
• border
• crater
• drone
• powerful blast