Jammu, Jan 21 (PTI) Panic gripped the border area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district for a brief while Friday evening after BSF troops detected a big hole in a farmland near the International Border (IB), presuming it to be cross-border tunnel, sources said.

However, it turned out to a hole or pit caused by rains, they said.

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A big hole in a farmland was detected by troops during a routine search operation in the farmland in Karol Krishna area in the district, they said.

Top BSF, police and other agencies rushed to the spot and discovered that it was not a tunnel but only a big hole or pit caused most probably due to rains, they said.

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"We suffered panic and thought a cross-border tunnel was detected. Top officials rushed to the spot. They used bulldozers to dig the area and found out it was just a hole not a tunnel," a local villager said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)