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 didn’t find any signs of a jet crash. The army and the airforce have also denied reports of the crash. However, a massive fire was triggered in the forest and efforts are on to douse the blaze. We are trying to find out the cause of the explosion,” Sharma said.“Strict action will be taken against those who spread unverified news on social media,” he added.Some photos and videos captured in the immediate aftermath of the explosion show thick plumes of pale smoke curling upward from a hillside with the snow-covered Himalayan peaks looming in the background.#Kishtwar: Visuals from a nearby location in Padder where thick plumes of smoke were seen rising from a forested area.#JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/SEWLZZsapS— Gulistan News (@GulistanNewsTV) April 24, 2026One video shows a contrail emerging from behind a mountain, streaking past the blue sky before ending abruptly near the site of the billowing smoke.Video: By arrangementContrails are clouds formed by the condensation of water vapour in the exhaust of engines of aircrafts flying at high altitudes.Rumours of the fighter jet crash caused panic as residents of Kishtwar saw airforce choppers flying towards the site of the explosion.A second video recorded during night hours at the site of the explosion shows an unidentified man claiming that the fire has spread to nearly three kilometres in the forest.A raging blaze in his background can be seen devouring several forest trees.“It’s tragic and strange. Padder has never seen such a fire. The J&K police including station house officer and deputy superintendent of police along with locals are present here at the spot,” he says.The video shows more than two dozen men in civilian clothes and uniformed personnel sitting some distance from the blaze and talking to each other with one of them passing a binocular to another.The young man who is wearing a maroon-coloured jacket says that they have not been able to find any wreckage after combing through the affected area.“The explosion is a matter of concern. We have searched the entire area but haven’t found anything. I request all the people not to panic. We are thankful to god and we hope that the rumours (of fighter jet crash) are false,” he says.In a statement, an official spokesperson of the Indian Air Force said: “There are certain media outlets and social media handles claiming an IAF aircraft has crashed near Kishtwar. This report is false.”The spokesperson however did not specify what had caused the explosion which was heard by residents across nearly 15 km radius of the site.On April 23 and 24, air raid blackout mock drills were held in Kupwara and Anantnag districts of Jammu and Kashmir, while a similar drill in Poonch district was cancelled by the government without citing any reason.A government official said that the drills were conducted as part of “emergency preparedness and safety training” with the aim of training “citizens with emergency response protocols during blackout or crisis situations and to evaluate the readiness of the public and administration”.The drills were conducted a year after India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ targeting terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam massacre in which 26 civilians were gunned down by suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists on April 22 last year.