Russians fear nuclear explosion after spotting mysterious mushroom cloud

A massive mushroom cloud looming over a Siberian town left locals fearing a deadly nuclear explosion had occurred.

Terrified residents of Kemerovo in Russia’s western Siberia frantically rang the emergency services worried that “doomsday has arrived” and that annihilation was imminent, Mirror reports.

Others feared one of the many coal mines might have exploded.

Locals posted images of the ominous mushroom cloud amidst blue skies to show what resembled a distinctive mark of a nuclear explosion.

However, residents were soon reassured that the massive formation was just a naturally-occurring thunderstorm cloud, according to Sputnik News. The anvil-shaped cumulonimbus often appears after a heavy thunderstorm, meteorologists told the news outlet.