On May 16, there was an explosion at an illegal firecracker unit in Egra, Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, leaving nine people dead and many seriously injured.
Against this backdrop, a video showing a series of explosions with the coils of smoke rising up is widely shared on social media, linking it to the Egra blast.
The video is shared on Facebook with a caption: “এগরা বিস্ফোরণ। পশ্চিমবঙ্গ এখন বারুদের স্তুপের ওপরে দাঁড়িয়ে আছে। খেলা হচ্ছে।”
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be FALSE.
Performing a Reverse Image Search, we identified an Instagram handle carrying the same viral video on January 25. This clearly means that the viral video cannot be related to the recent Egra blast.
We also found the same video uploaded on a YouTube Short with a caption: “Kavassery Poram Veddikettu”.
The same video had been also uploaded on a Facebook page on March 17, 2022, with a caption translated from the Malayalam language: “Home of Fireworks Kavassery Pooram Day Fireworks 2022”.
We found that Pooram is an annual festival celebrated in temples dedicated to goddesses Durga or Kali, primarily in the Valluvanadu region and other nearby areas of north-central Kerala, including present-day districts of Palakkad, Thrissur, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Malappuram. This festival takes place after the summer harvest and holds significant cultural and religious importance in the region. Thrissur Pooram is the most famous of all poorams, known for fireworks.
Although we could not ascertain the exact time and location of the viral video, it is evident from the above information that the video is unrelated to the recent Egra blast.
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