Louisiana mystery boom identified as military bunker

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A bunker at a northern Louisiana military compound exploded late Monday, briefly prompting speculation that the loud boom and shaking ground had been caused by meteorite .

Webster Parish officials confirmed Tuesday that the mysterious incident was a “contained” explosion at Camp Minden, a north Louisiana National Guard training site.

“The bunker did exactly what it was designed to do," said Webster Parish Sheriff's Chief Deputy Bobby Igo, Jr. "There were no injuries - nobody hurt. We don't know the cause at this point,” he told the Minden Press-Herald.

Residents had been scrambling to figure out what caused the massive boom, which broke windows and rattled homes and businesses around 11:30 pm CST. The blast shook a five mile area from Minden to Dixie Inn, about 30 miles from Shreveport.

Witnesses also reported seeing a flash of light.

The U.S. Geological Survey had no reports of earthquakes in the area and natural gas plants in the region said they had not suffered any explosions.

Some local officials guessed the incident could have been caused by a meteorite, noting that the Earth is currently being peppered by a meteor shower spawned by the famous Halley’s Comet.

But a NASA official told the Daily News the space agency was doubtful a meteorite caused the damage and did not expect to investigate.

“They hit everywhere, all the time,” NASA spokesman Steve Cole said of meteorites.

Finally, by Tuesday morning, Camp Minden confirmed they had been the source of the blast, which is still under investigation.  The bunker belongs to a company called Explo, officials said.

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