A video of a hotel fire in Turkey is falsely shared as the Delhi college library fire incident
A fire broke out at Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce in Pitampura, Delhi, on 15 May 2025, affecting the library across three floors. No injuries were reported, and the situation was brought under control by the fire department (here, here and here). In this context, a video (here, here and here) went viral on social media showing a multi-storey building engulfed in flames, with claims that it was the library in Delhi and that thousands of people had died. Let’s find the truth behind this video.
Claim: The viral video showing a multi-storey building on fire is from the recent library fire at a college in Delhi, where thousands of people reportedly died.
Fact: The video actually shows a hotel under construction catching fire in Alanya, Turkey, on 27 January 2025. It predates the Delhi library fire and has no connection to the incident. No injuries were reported in the Delhi incident. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
To find the truth, we performed a reverse image search on Google, which led us to the same viral video posted by The Tradesman on 29 January 2025—well before the Delhi library incident. The caption stated that the fire broke out at a multi-storey hotel construction site in Antalya, Turkey. We also found the same video on another website, claiming it was from Turkey. Several news channels reported the incident and shared different visuals, including drone footage, confirming it took place in Turkey (here, here and here).
Further research led us to different news reports from Turkey about the incident. According to news outlets (here, here and here), a fire broke out on 27 January 2025 at a 12-storey hotel under construction in Alanya, Antalya province. The fire started due to welding sparks, and though workers tried to control it, firefighters had to rescue four trapped workers. Alanya Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik confirmed there were no casualties and the fire was mainly on the 3rd floor.
According to the report, the fire occurred on Kerim Ertekin Street in the Cikcilli Neighbourhood, Alanya province. We geo-located the area, and the building structure and outer walls seen in the viral video match those visible on Google Maps. The building appears blackened due to the fire damage. Notably, the incident took place in the last week of January 2025, and Google Street View was updated in February 2025—shortly after the fire—further confirming the location.
To sum up, a video of a hotel fire in Turkey is falsely shared as the Delhi college library fire incident.