'Sirens, Blasts, and Fear—We Didn’t Know What Was Happening In Jammu'

On 8 May, Anmol Ohri, a resident of Jammu, was near the market when he heard the sounds of blasts.

(Image altered by The Quint/Vibhushita Singh)

The night of 8 May 2025 is one I will never forget. I was returning from the Government Medical Hospital in Jammu after volunteering and coordinating blood donations for victims of Pakistan’s cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.

At around 8:20 pm, I was in the market area when we suddenly saw 4-5 missile-like objects flying across the sky. Within minutes, loud explosions followed.

Soon after, there was a power outage. Sirens began buzzing, and panic spread throughout the city. We had no idea what was happening as one blast followed another.

I rushed back to my home in Anand Nagar, which falls within Jammu's municipal area. Even after reaching home, I could still hear massive explosions coming from the Akhnoor, Arnia, and Marh border areas.

We immediately started calling our family and friends to check on their safety. Many told us they could feel the vibrations from the blast waves shaking the walls of their homes.

A short while later, we received a notification from the Integrated Defence Staff stating that Pakistan had targeted military stations in Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur using missiles and drones.

Thankfully, our defence forces neutralised the threats. Power was briefly restored around 10 pm. However, between 2 am and 7 am, we experienced intermittent power cuts until electricity was fully restored.

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