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| - Fact Check: This spectacular video does not show a lightning strike water
One spectacular video is circulating on social media which shows a streak of light hitting a water body, followed by a series of explosions in the latter. India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that this is no natural incidence but a controlled underwater explosion by an engineering firm.
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India Today Fact Check
This is no natural incident but the video of a controlled underwater explosion carried out by a Finnish engineering firm to deepen the waterway. The company, Rannikon Merityö, had uploaded the video on YouTube in 2012.
Almost 80 people have been killed in lightning strikes in different parts of North India in the last few days. According to official data, 2,000 people die every year in India due to lightning strikes, one of the perils brought about by the monsoon.
Amid much discussion on social media, one spectacular video is circulating which shows a streak of light hitting a water body, followed by a series of explosions in the latter. "When lightning hits water," reads the caption.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that this is no natural incidence but a controlled underwater explosion by an engineering firm.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Not a bolt from the blue
Upon closely observing the viral video in slow motion, we could see that just before the explosion in the water, a trail of electrical sparks make their way to the water body from the banks. So clearly, this is not a bolt that strikes from the sky on the water, which is normally the case for a lightning strike.
With the help of InVID and reverse image search, we found the same video on YouTube uploaded by "Rannikon Merity¶" in 2012, with the title in Finnish language. The English translation of the title reads, "Drilling piling, part 3: Blasting". The details section says, "In this video, we deepen the waterway."
"Rannikon Merity¶" is a Finnish engineering company that claims to be an expert in underwater excavation, mining and blasting works. On its website, we have found the same YouTube video that has gone viral, although there are not many details available about this underwater explosion video.
But it can be concluded that the viral video is not a natural lightning phenomenon on a water body, but a controlled underwater explosion carried out by a Finnish engineering firm to deepen the waterway.
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