Mysterious ground-shaking explosion sparks fear across Washington DC

Residents across Washington DC have been sent into a state of panic after a mysterious explosion was heard across the city, shaking the Earth and causing homes to tremble in the wake of the ominous sound.

At around 3:09 pm local time, the 'loud boom' saw 911 operators inundated with calls, 4NBC Washington reported, shortly after the explosion was heard across the capital city of the United States.

Radio station WTOP also reported receiving dozens of calls from listeners reporting the loud boom in the Annapolis and Bowie areas of Maryland.

The sound was heard as far as Northwest DC and in areas of Springfield and Woodbridge in Virginia, according to social media reports.

Homes were rattled on their foundations and social media videos are now surfacing showing people reacting to the strange sound as the noise was heard across the region.

One person on social media said: "There was an explosion in Washington DC a couple of minutes ago. It seems to have been heard in a large area of the city. I have no idea what happened, but it's not good."

Another tweeted: "It's like nothing I've experienced before. I thought it was a large gas explosion nearby."

A third person added that the loud noise spooked his rescue dog: "Sonic Boom as heard by my dog Rocket in Fairfax Station. Shook the house."

Officials now claim the sound was 'caused by an authorized Department of Defence flight'.

The City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management said on Twitter: "This flight caused a sonic boom."

The City of Bowie tweeted that the sonic boom came from a 'plane out of Joint Base Andrews'.

DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management attempted to allay public fear, tweeting that 'there is no threat at this time'.

According to the Daily Mail, the boom was likely caused by a Pentagon jet rushing to stop a small plane that flew over a restricted area of Washington DC.

A private Cessna jet that took off Elizabethton, Tennessee was unresponsive as it neared the US Capitol building and the White House, Federal Aviation Administration officials report, as per the Daily Mail.

The small plane was bound for Long Island, New York, but flight paths indicate that once it reached its destination it doubled back and headed towards Washington DC.

US military officials then scrambled fighter jets from Andrews Air Force Base, where President Joe Biden was playing golf at the time, to pursue the Cessna Citation, which can only carry about 12 passengers.

Authorities later confirmed a F-16 fighter plane broke the sound barrier over Chesapeake Bay which was the cause for the 'explosion' heard across the DC region.

The light plane eventually crashed into mountains in Virginia.

As per the Daily Mail, military officials have denied the pursuit caused the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are now investigating.