A disturbing video of a building erupting in flames is getting circulated on social media with the narrative that this a building named Raheja behind Infinity mall, Mumbai. In the video, people can be seen trying to escape the fire by climbing down a rope from the terrace of the building. One person loses grip and falls down. One Gaffar Turak posted the video with the following message, “Raheja behind infinity mall andheri east.”
Raheja behind infinity mall andheri east.
Posted by Gaffar Turak on Thursday, 8 August 2019
A few more individuals on Facebook have shared the video with the identical narrative.
Fact-check
Alt News ran a keyword search on Google and found the same video published on YouTube by one Prashant Nalavade on April 16, 2019. It was titled, “Fake news: about fire at raheja behind infinity mall andheri west”. In the description, the user had posted a link to an article in The Guardian.
The Guardian reported that at least 19 people were killed, out of which six had died after jumping from a 22-storey building in Dhaka that had caught fire. “The fire ignited just after noon on Thursday and spread quickly throughout the building in the upmarket Banani commercial district. People could be seen screaming for help as hundreds of panicked onlookers crowded the streets below.”, stated the article published on March 28, 2019. At the time, emergency services in Bangladesh had informed that at least 65 people were treated in a hospital. According to a report by India Today, the death toll in Dhaka had jumped to at least 25 people with the number of injured people increased to 70.
In conclusion, a four-month-old video of a building gutted in fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh was shared as that of Mumbai, India. This might lead to unnecessary fear and panic among Indian social media users, especially those residing close to Infinity mall.