Unidentified object explodes in Jalandhar village; air sirens ring out in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur

Chandigarh | After a night of bristling tension, people woke up to explosion-like sounds in Punjab's Pathankot and Jalandhar districts, while air sirens rang out in Hoshiarpur, Amritsar and Ferozepur districts, as the military conflict between India and Pakistan took a sharp upturn, officials said.

In Haryana's Sirsa too, some locals claimed they heard blast-like sounds after midnight.

An unidentified projectile landed in a residential area at Kanganiwal village in Punjab's Jalandhar district early Saturday, officials said.

The locals said a migrant labourer was injured in the incident, while a few houses in the area also sustained damages. Parts of the unidentified object were lying in the area, they said.

"I was standing near a window when some object hit a water tank (of a house) around 1.30 am, shattering glasses of 4-5 houses before landing," a woman from the area said.

A migrant labourer who suffered injuries on his arm was taken to the hospital, she said.

Satinder Kumar, a local, said, "The water tank of our house was damaged, while many window panes were also shattered. There was smoke all around."

Another local resident, Muskan, too said a big explosion took place at night that forced several people to come out of their homes.

"One car was damaged...We were all scared," she said.

Sharing her experience, Surjit Kaur said a red-coloured light flashed in the sky which was followed by a big explosion.

"Water tanks of some other houses in the area were also damaged," she said.

Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Himanshu Aggarwal has urged people to avoid large gatherings or crowding as part of the precautionary measures.

He also urged people to avoid moving out in the open and movement in tall buildings, besides ordering closure of markets in Jalandhar Cantt and Adampur.

"Malls and high-rise commercial buildings in the rest of the district will remain closed today," the DC said, asking people to stay calm.

Blast-like sounds were also heard around 5 am in Pathankot and around 8:30 am in Jalandhar. However, there was no official word in this regard.

Meanwhile, air raid sirens were sounded in Hoshiarpur, Amritsar and Jalandhar on Saturday morning, officials said.

The Amritsar district administration at 7:54 am asked people to remain indoors and stay away from windows.

There were reports of explosion-like sounds being heard early Saturday in Amritsar and Goindwal Sahib in Tarn Taran district.

Debris of unidentified objects were found at some places at Beas in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Tarn Taran districts, officials said.

The strikes followed after Pakistan launched a fresh wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India -- from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat -- for the second night on Friday.

According to officials, the security forces thwarted multiple drone attacks launched by Pakistan in Punjab's Ferozepur, Pathankot, Fazilka and Amritsar districts.

In Ferozepur, three members of a family were injured on Friday night after a crashing projectile from a Pakistani drone destroyed by the Indian air defence system landed at their house at Khai Pheme Ke village, setting the structure and a car on fire.

Tensions between India and Pakistan soared significantly after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.