This old photo of a catfish spill from a truck in China is falsely shared as ‘Rain of fish’ in Honduras - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 4, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the photo shows the “Rain of fish” event in Yoro, Honduras. The post even claims that “Rain of fish” is an annual weather event in which hundreds of fish rain from the sky onto the city of Yoro in Honduras. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing “Rain of fish” event in Yoro, Honduras.
Fact: The photo is from China and not Honduras. The door of a truck carrying 6,800 kgs of catfish was accidently opened on a street in Kaili, Guizhou province in China in 2015. The people were seen picking up catfish that have fallen from the truck. “Rain of Fish” or Lluvia De Peces is said to be an event that occurs at least once or sometimes twice in a year in the town of Yoro, in Honduras. There are various scientific and religious explanations given to the event. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the photo, a Firstpost article with the same image was found. The article titled, ‘Fish! Chinese city’s streets filled with hundreds of catfish after accident’ was published on 20 March 2015. The door of a truck carrying 6,800 kgs of catfish was accidentally opened on a street in Kaili, Guizhou province. In the image, the people were seen picking up catfish that have fallen from the truck. News articles that reported about the same incident with similar images from China can be seen here and here.
“Rain of Fish” or Lluvia De Peces is said to be an event that occurs at least once or sometimes twice in a year in the town of Yoro, in Honduras (a country in Central America). Hundreds of fish supposedly rain from the sky onto the streets during this event, which has varying explanations. According to a legend, the event is attributed to the prayers of Manuel de Jesus Subirana, a Catholic missionary from Spain who in the mid-1800s asked God to help ease Yoro’s hunger. The fish rain, according to the legend, started soon after the prayers.
One scientific explanation given is the Waterspouts which are little tornadoes formed over a body of water. These can lift small animals from the water and into the air. In the 1970s, National Geographic witnessed the event and suggested the fish came up from under the ground rather than falling from the sky. Articles about this event can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, this old photo of a catfish spill from a truck in China is falsely shared as ‘Rain of fish’ in Honduras.