Air force explains cause of loud bangs that startled north Germany

The German Air Force, or Luftwaffe, has provided an explanation for two loud bangs which startled people across northern Germany on Monday afternoon.

Two army fighter jets broke the sound barrier over Hanover, the Luftwaffe announced on Twitter. The two Eurofighters had taken off from Laage air base in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

A Luftwaffe spokesman said the Eurofighters from the Quick Reaction Alert had been scrambled at around 12:55 pm (1055 GMT) because a passenger aircraft en route to Amsterdam had lost radio contact.

In order to reach the civilian aircraft as quickly as possible, the Eurofighters went into supersonic mode over Hanover. The aircraft was finally reached to the south of Münster.

According to the Luftwaffe spokesman, the lack of radio contact was due to an error by the pilot. The civilian aircraft had since landed safely in Amsterdam.

According to the spokesperson, the double bang was heard in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia - "from Hanover to Münster." Numerous emergency calls were received by the police, and many people speculated on Twitter about the cause of the bang.