Wednesday, January 12 2005 22:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Panic gripped a village in Raigad district of Maharashtra last night (Jan 11, 2005) with residents reporting a huge ball of fire coming down from the sky accompanied by a big bang.

Raigad SP Jyaneshwar Fadtare said that residents of Khapoli village informed that they had seen the fireball and heard a deafening sound that "shook the earth" at around 21:00 hrs (IST). The village is about 100 kms from Mumbai.

He said that a police team had been sent out to ascertain the situation but the problem was of locating the place where the reported fireball could have come crashing down.

Police Commissioner Navi Mumabi Vijay Kamble said that there was "no substance" in the complaint of the villagers although people of Chirner near Uran had also heard the bang.

The Air Traffic Control and directorate general of Civil Aviation ruled out the possibility of either a plane or a helicopter crash saying as per their records this had not happened.