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| - Fact Check: Jolting Afghanistan explosion shared as Pakistan power plant blast
If the social media claims are to be believed, the horrifying explosion happened in the Guddu Power Plant, situated in Pakistan's Sindh province. However, the viral video is from Afghanistan.
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India Today Fact Check
Although there has been a recent fire in the Guddu Power Plant in Pakistan's Sindh, the video was shot in Afghanistan in 2021. The video captured exploding fuel tanks at a customs office in Afghanistan's western province of Herat on February 13, 2021.
A video of a massive explosion is doing the rounds on social media lately. Several users are sharing the video claiming it to be from a blast at a Pakistan power plant.
If these claims are to be believed, the horrifying explosion happened in the Guddu Power Plant, situated in Pakistan's Sindh province.
Facebook and Twitter users shared the video with a text that read: "Fire at Guddu Power Plant caused a loss of Rs 15 billion to the national exchequer."
Archived versions of some similar posts can be seen here.
India Today's Anti-Fake News War Room (AFWA) found these posts to be misleading. Although it is true that a fire recently broke out in the said power plant in Pakistan, the viral video was shot last year in Afghanistan.
AFWA PROBE
A reverse search of the screenshots led us to the same video which was uploaded on YouTube in February 2021. "Dozens of Gas and oil barrels caught fire in Herat Islam Qala port (sic)," the caption read.
Islam Qala is a border town situated in Afghanistan's western province of Herat. Searches using relevant keywords revealed a few Russian and Turkish media reports with images of the said explosion.
A RU Posters report from February 14, 2021, identified it as a blast that took place in Afghanistan after some fuel tanks caught fire.
A Turkish media report on the same day showed 18 trucks with Turkish license plates were destroyed in the explosion. The incident happened in the "Islamic Kale" (Islam Qala) region of Afghanistan, close to the Iranian border.
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The Associated Press and CNN quoted Afghan officials and Iranian state media confirming that almost 500 trucks caught fire and some 17 people were injured.
According to these reports, it all started when a fuel truck exploded on February 13, 2021, at the customs office in Islam Qala.
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We also found that the same video was tweeted by Bilal Sarwary, an Afghan journalist.
#AFG fuel tankers exploding. Investors losing their money in a matter of seconds. Financial tragedy on the Afghan - Iran border. No one knows what started the fire. No reports of casualties or fatalities at this stage. Video shared with me. pic.twitter.com/hb127UqSv5 — BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) February 13, 2021
A search for the mishap at Guddu Power Plant took us to multiple media reports from Pakistan. Geo News, The Express Tribune, and Pakistan Today said that a fire had broken out at the Guddu Power Plant in the Sindh province on July 13, during the Eid-Ul-Ahza celebrations.
Reports suggest that the power plant was burnt to the ground, causing a loss worth Rs 15 billion to the national exchequer. It quoted sources revealing that there were no extinguishers available to deal with the flames. A four-member team, led by a chief engineer, was formed to investigate the mishap.
However, there was no mention of an explosion in any of these reports, making it clear that the viral video is unrelated to this incident. Thus, it is safe to conclude that the explosion video from Afghanistan has been shared with false claims.
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