Clip from Bangkok falsely shared as footage of metro overbridge collapse in India

By: Annet Preethi Furtado
July 25 2023

Share Article:

Context

A video has surfaced on Twitter claiming to show the collapse of "India's newly constructed overhead metro." In the 11-second clip, part of an under-construction overbridge can be seen disintegrating and crashing over vehicles on the road. The person recording the video quickly turns to the left as the overbridge crumbles and seeks refuge at a nearby fuelling station. An archived post can be found here.

However, the video was in Thailand and not India.

In Fact

A reverse image search using a keyframe from the video led us to a one-minute-long version of the same clip. Several users on TikTok and Facebook had shared this extended video earlier this month. A dateline visible at the bottom right of the screen in the extended version shows it was recorded on July 10, 2023. According to the Facebook posts, the video was filmed in Bangkok, Thailand. The extended version also shows the name of the fuelling station as "PTT station."

According to a news report published by AP, at least two people were killed on July 10 after an elevated road built in Thailand's capital collapsed. Bangkok Post reported that preliminary investigations conducted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) suggested that heavy equipment lifting a concrete segment caused the collapse during the construction of the elevated road. It further stated that the collapsed section stretched for 600 meters and was part of the 2.2-kilometer-long Nut-Lat Krabang elevated road project. The report mentioned the location of the incident as Luang Phaeng Road in Bangkok.

Upon closer examination of the video in question, we also observed a large signboard outside the fuelling station. The signboard had the word "Ochaya" on it. Headquartered in Bangkok, Ochaya is a 200+store franchise specializing in milk and bubble tea. The brand's official logo, available on its website, matched the one on the signboard in the video. 

Based on the available details, we searched "Ptt station, Luang Phaeng Road" on Google Maps and were able to spot the precise location where the video was filmed. We were able to locate the fueling station, the Ochaya signboard, a Honda showroom, and a building across the road in the viral video as well as on Google Street View. We thus concluded that the viral video was recorded in Bangkok.

The Verdict

A video claiming to depict the collapse of an overhead metro in India is, in fact, from Bangkok, Thailand. The video captured the moment an under-construction elevated road collapsed earlier this month.