Pictures of flooded roads due to heavy monsoons in Mumbai are widespread on social media. The downpour on August 5 broke a 46-year-old record. In 12 hours, Mumbai witnessed 294mm of rainfall. A 30-second video is now viral on social media wherein a few people rescue a boy from a manhole. Users sharing this video have claimed that it was recorded on Mohammad Ali Road. On August 6, a twitter user ‘@xo21426524’ shared this video, garnering over 9,000 views. (archive link to tweet)
Heroics On Full Display In #Mumbai 😇 #LifeSavingRescue 🤯 #MumbaiFloods 🌊 pic.twitter.com/awmcvBtSKi
— xo (@xo21426524) August 6, 2020
A report in India Times covering Mumbai rains carried the same tweet.
A user tweeted this video and tagged Alt News to verify if it was indeed recorded at Muhammad Ali Road.
मोहम्मद अली रोड मुबंई it’s true video from mohammed ali Road?
Via whatsapp@AltNews @FactCheckIndia pic.twitter.com/nu8tRfCHFh
— Ganesh 😍🧐 (@Ganeshspeak1504) August 6, 2020
Fact-check
The people in the video can be heard conversing in the Pashto language, which is widely spoken in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Upon performing a reverse image search, we found that the video is from Karachi, Pakistan. A Facebook user had shared the video on July 29, criticising the government for not providing aid to the public. It is worth mentioning here that due to heavy rains on July 26-27, seven people lost their lives in Karachi.
Apart from this, many Pakistani users claimed that the video is from Peshawar. Pakistani journalist Gul Bukhari had shared the video claiming the same. Replying to Bukhari’s tweet, Pakistan Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra responded that there has been no rain in Peshawar the past few days. According to him, the video may have been shot close to the flyover constructed near Banaras colony in Karachi.
Confirmation bias: The tendency to search for information that confirms one’s own beliefs.
Ms. @GulBukhari, this is not Peshawar. For one thing, no rain here for weeks…
P.s. Looks suspiciously like the Banaras flyover and colony, Karachi. Are you still as shocked by it? https://t.co/Mvn5pMteMi
— Taimur Khan Jhagra (@Jhagra) July 31, 2020
Using keywords along with a reverse image search, we found a report on a news website Report Center. As per the report, the video in question and the incident shown occurred at Banaras Chowk, Aurangi city in Karachi. The boy fell into an open manhole covered in rainwater. Passers-by rescued him and took him to a hospital.
The story was covered by a Pakistani newspaper Daily Jung on July 29. As per the report, people present at the scene saved the boy and took him to a hospital. He recovered after minor treatment. Hence, the video shows an accident that took place in Banaras Chowk, Karachi, and not in Peshawar or anywhere in India.
A longer video of the incident can be watched below.
Therefore, a video of a boy who fell into a manhole in Karachi during heavy rains on July 26-27, was misrepresented as an incident that took place in Mumbai’s Muhammad Ali Road.
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Kinjal | Radio Free (2020-08-07T15:48:23+00:00) Video from Karachi shared as boy rescued from manhole during heavy rains in Mumbai. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/08/07/video-from-karachi-shared-as-boy-rescued-from-manhole-during-heavy-rains-in-mumbai/
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