A video showing a live electric wire short circuiting in a flooded road has been peddled online with a false claim that it captures an incident that took place in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
BOOM found that the video captures an incident that occurred on Nguyen Van Linh Street in Can Tho, Vietnam, on October 14 of this year, when an electric wire fell into the water during heavy rainfall in the area, and created a small fire.
The clip is doing rounds on the internet, linking it to the recent heavy rainfall in Bengaluru, which has thrown life out of gear in the city. With the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a yellow alert for Bengaluru until October 24, schools were closed, and many people worked from home due to overflowing lakes and waterlogging in residential areas and on roads.
Amid this, several verified right-wing handles posted the video on social media to hold the current Congress-led state government responsible for the troubles of its residents.
One such handle shared the video and wrote in Hindi, which translates to, "The Congress government performed wonders. Water caught fire in Bangalore."
(Original Text in Hindi: कांग्रेस की सरकार ने कमाल कर दिया बैंगलोर में पानी मे आग लगा दी)
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Another right-wing handle Kreately also shared the video with a similar false caption claiming it to be from Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Kreately has previously been fact-checked multiple times by BOOM for spreading misinformation online. Read here and here.
Fact Check
BOOM broke the video into multiple keyframes and performed a reverse image search, which directed us to news reports from Vietnamese media outlets stating that the incident occurred in the country on October 14 this year.
One such outlet, VTVcab News, shared the same video on their official Facebook page on October 18, 2023, and stated in Vietnamese that the incident took place on Nguyen Van Linh Street, Can Tho City, on the afternoon of October 14.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
An article published by Vietnam-based news outlet Bao Tin Tuc on October 14 stated that heavy rain lasting over two hours that afternoon led to severe flooding in the center of Can Tho City. The downpour caused widespread flooding, leaving many roads heavily congested, with water rising to over half the height of vehicle wheels and flooding homes, disrupting daily life and traffic.
The report also added that on Nguyen Van Linh Street, an electric wire, which fell into a flooded street sparked, causing panic among nearby residents.
Another Vietnamese outlet, Bao Tuoi Tre, published a video report about the incident on their official YouTube channel on October 18, 2024. The report mentioned that Can Tho City Electricity Company acknowledged the incident later, stating it occurred around 4:50 p.m. on October 14 on Nguyen Van Linh Street in Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho.