Fact Check: Video of rescue operation in floods is from China, not Libya

The death toll has crossed 11 thousand and over 10 thousand people went missing after devastating floods that hit the city of Derna in Libya.

Amidst this, a video showing a bulldozer rescuing people in a heavily flooded area is doing the rounds on social media, with users claiming that the video shows the successful rescue operation in Libya.

An X user shared the video with the caption, “Libya: Successful rescue operation…Libya flooding disaster. #LibyaFloods #Libya.”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video is from China.

On performing a reverse image search on the video’s keyframe, we found the same video posted on X by China’s state media, People’s Daily on August 1, 2023. In the caption, it is mentioned that a man used a bulldozer against a gushing water current to rescue a family stuck on the roof in Beijing.

We also found the video published by the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on August 1, 2023, titled “Man uses tractor to rescue three people trapped in floodwaters in Beijing.”

CNN, in a report, used the still from the video and said that a family trapped by typhoon flood waters was rescued in a daring effort in Beijing.

Hence, we conclude that the video shows a rescue operation of a family trapped in floods in Beijing, China, not Libya. The claim is false.