An unrelated photo of a road accident in Gonda, U.P., is shared falsely linking it to the Uttarakhand cloudburst
The recent cloudburst in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district on 05 August 2025 triggered severe flash floods, particularly in Dharali village. The intense and sudden rainfall caused rivers like the Kheer Ganga to overflow, leading to large-scale destruction of homes and infrastructure. At least five people lost their lives, several remain missing, and around 190 people have been rescued so far (here, here, and here).
In the aftermath of the incident, a photo showing several dead bodies lying on the ground is being widely shared on social media (here, here, and here) with the claim that it shows victims of the Uttarakhand flood. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The photos show victims who died in the 05 August 2025 Uttarakhand cloudburst.
Fact: The viral photo is unrelated to the 05 August 2025 Uttarakhand cloudburst. It shows victims of a road accident that took place on 03 August 2025 in Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh, where a Bolero fell into the Saryu canal, killing 11 people and leaving 4 injured. The Uttarkashi Police also clarified that the photo has no connection with the Dharali flood incident. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
A Google Lens search of the viral photos led us to several social media posts (here, here, and here) featuring the same visuals, all dated 03 August 2025. These posts claimed that the visuals are from Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, showing a car accident. It is important to note that the Uttarakhand flood occurred on 05 August 2025, so these photos cannot be related to the Uttarakhand tragedy.
Based on clues from these social media posts, we used relevant search keywords and found multiple regional media reports featuring the same visuals (here, here, and here). According to these reports, on the morning of 03 August 2025, a speeding Bolero lost control and fell into the Saryu canal in Rahra village, Itiyathok area of Gonda district. Eleven people died in the accident, nine of whom belonged to the same family. They were from Siha village and were on their way to the Prithvinath temple to offer water. The vehicle was carrying 15 people in total, and four survived. The injured were taken for medical treatment, and the bodies were sent for post-mortem. Reportedly, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced ₹5 lakh compensation for each deceased person’s family, while Prime Minister Modi announced ₹2 lakh from the PM CARES fund.
Additionally, we found an X post (archived) by Uttarkashi Police, Uttarakhand, dated 06 August 2025, featuring the same viral photo. In the post, the police clarified that some social media users are falsely linking an incident from Gonda to the disaster in Dharali, Uttarkashi. They confirmed that the photo has no connection with the Dharali cloudburst incident.
To sum up, this viral photo is unrelated to the Uttarakhand cloudburst and shows a 03 August road accident in Gonda, U.P.