Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Claim
Two people drowned at Bandra Bandstand.
Fact
Video was found to be from 2022, when a Maharashtra man and his two children were swept away by strong waves at an Oman beach.
Several social media users are sharing a video of people being swept away by strong waves at a beach, claiming that two drowned at Bandra Bandstand amid the heavy rain in Mumbai. The incessant rainfall has led to road closures, train cancellations and school holidays across Maharashtra, with the weather department issuing an orange alert for Thane, Palghar, Raigad, and Ratnagiri districts on July 20 as well as a yellow alert for Mumbai.
The archived versions of the tweets can be seen here and here.
Also Read: Here’s The Truth Behind Viral Videos Shared To Show Launch Of Chandrayaan 3
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Bandra bandstand two drowning”, which did not lead us to any credible news reports of such an incident. We, however, came across multiple news reports, seen here, here and here, of a 27-year-old woman who was swept away at Bandstand near Bandra Fort on June 9, while posing for a photograph with her husband. A comparison of the videos proved that the viral clip is not of the same incident.
Newschecker noticed that several users across the comments of the viral videos pointed out that the incident happened in Oman. Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search for “Oman beach drowning”, which led us to this NDTV report, dated July 14, 2022, stating that a man from Maharashtra and his six-year-old son drowned while playing at a beach in Oman.
“A video of the incident taken by another tourist shows Shruti and Shreyas being swept away by a strong wave while playing in the water. Their father soon followed them into the water in a bid to save them, but he also drowned,” read the report, featuring the viral video.
A comparison of the screenshot used in the news report and the viral video further confirms it is of the same incident. Similar news reports can be seen here, here and here, sharing the video.
Conclusion
A 2022 video, showing a man and his two children being swept away by strong waves at a beach in Oman, is being shared as a recent incident in Bandra Bandstand amid the Mumbai rains.
Result: False
Sources
NDTV report, July 14, 2022
News18 report, July 14, 2022
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
