Fact Check: Operation Sindoor - video does not show IAF strike on Sialkot, it's a gas cylinder explosion in Dharavi
A video showing multiple explosions is going viral with claims that it shows Operation Sindoor strike on Sialkot.
By K Sherly Sharon
Claim:Video shows Indian Army strike on Sialkot.
Fact:This is false. The video shows a gas cylinder blast in Dharavi on March 24. This is not related to Operation Sindoor.
Hyderabad: The Indian Armed Forces launched āOPERATION SINDOORā, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, in the early hours of May 7. The Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out precision strikes in nine sites including Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot.
In this context, a video is going viral on social media claiming to show the situation in Sialkot during the strike by IAF. In the video, we see an explosion taking place on a road and fire erupting from trucks. The video camera pans, showing a crowd witnessing the blast.
The text on the video reads, āSeason 1 - Episode 2 starts. Sialkot is burning.ā This video was shared on Threads with the caption āSeason 1 Episode 2 starts.
Sialkot is burning.. #IndiaPakistanWar #OperationSindoor #operation_sindoor #ÉŖÉ“į“ ÉŖį“É“į“Źį“Źā (Archive)
Another X user shared the video with the caption, āPoonch ka badla Sialkot seā¦Jai Hind [Unconfirmed visual]ā (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the viral claims are false. The video shows a gas cylinder explosion that occurred on March 24, in Mumbaiās Dharavi. The video is not related to IAFās strike on Sialkot.
Under the viral X post, we found a comment by a user ā@jeenathjainā stating, āThis is not real video, it is from Dharavi where blast happened.ā (Translated from Hindi)
Using this lead we performed a keyword search and found the same video uploaded by Gulf Digital News on Facebook page on March 25. The video was uploaded with the caption āGas cylinders catch fire, explode in Mumbai's Dharavi slum.ā
The Facebook post stated that multiple cooking gas cylinders in a truck caught fire and exploded in Mumbaiās biggest slum of Dharavi, on March 24.
On March 26, Times of India published a report on the incident with the headline āWatch: Mumbai's Dharavi shaken as 20+ LPG cylinders on truck explode.ā
The report stated that multiple explosions took place and fire broke out in a parked truck carrying a large number of LPG gas cylinders. The incident took place near the Dharavi bus depot on the SionDharavi Link Road adjoining the Nature Park, at around 9:50 PM.
A report published by Hindustan Times on March 25 titled, āFire in Dharavi after cylinder blasts in truck; no injuriesā quoted Santosh Sawant, deputy chief fire officer stating the cause of the blast is the explosion of an LPG gas cylinder in the lorry. He also added that five fire engines were deployed in accordance with the level II protocol.
Therefore, the viral video does not show the IAF strikes on Sialkot. The video shows the gas cylinder explosion that took place on March 24 in Dharavi. Hence, NewsMeter concluded that the viral claim is false.
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