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| - Fact Check: This terrifying video of a giant wave is from Durban, BUT it's 5 years old!
A large wave reportedly killed at least three people and injured over a dozen in South Africa's Durban on December 17. In its aftermath, a video of a gigantic wave crashing onto a beach has been making the rounds on social media.
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India Today Fact Check
This video is from Durban but was shot on March 12, 2017, when a gigantic wave hit the city. No casualties were reported at the time.
A large wave reportedly killed at least three people and injured over a dozen in South Africa’s Durban on December 17. According to reports, the beach was full of people when a “freak wave” hit it.
In its aftermath, a video of a gigantic wave crashing into a beach has been making the rounds on social media. People on Twitter and Facebook who shared this video claimed it showed the aforementioned freak wave that hit Durban.
The viral video, supposedly recorded from a high-rise building, showed people running away from the coast as a massive wave crashed into the beach. An archived version of such a post can be seen here.
AFWA's investigation found that this video is more than five-years-old.
AFWA PROBE
Reverse-searching keyframes from the viral video led us to the same clip uploaded to a YouTube channel called “Sun Newspapers” on March 12, 2017, making it clear that the viral video was unrelated to the recent incident. The video was titled, “Durban beach closed due to high waves DRAMATIC AERIAL VIDEO.”
We also found a screenshot of the same video featured in a South African news report published on March 12, 2017. It mentioned that cyclonic weather in Madagascar caused havoc along Durban’s North Beach, forcing the authorities to shut the beach. However, no casualties were reported at the time.
IS IT REALLY FROM DURBAN?
As we did not find any concrete evidence from leading media sources to prove the authenticity of the location, we tried to geo-locate the spot seen in the viral video. As a round swimming pool and a causeway were clearly visible in the video, we tried locating them in Google Maps.
While searching for the exact location in Google Maps, we came across a similar-looking round pool on the coast of the Durban beach near Durban Funworld, an amusement park. We also noticed a causeway and palm trees on the beach that appeared similar to the visuals in the viral video. These similarities, as illustrated in the image below, helped us conclude that this beach was indeed in Durban.
Thus, it is clear that while this terrifying video is from Durban in South Africa, it’s not recent at all.
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