Amid reports of volcanic activity in Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano or ‘El Popo,’ a video has been circulating on social media showing water boiling under a highway road. The post claims that this incident occurred in Veracruz, Mexico, attributing it to volcanic activity in El Popo. Let’s fact-check this claim to determine its accuracy.
Claim: The visuals of water boiling under pits formed on a highway in Veracruz, Mexico, are a result of volcanic activity in Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcanic mountain.
Fact: This video does not depict an incident in Mexico but rather an incident in Guayaquil, Ecuador. A fire broke under an overpass on Pedro Menendez Gilbert Avenue, Guayaquil. The cause of this fire is not a volcanic eruption. Hence the claim made in the post is False.
The video in question actually shows a fire accident that occurred under the overpass of Av. Pedro Menéndez Gilbert in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and not in Mexico. The cause of the fire was not a volcanic eruption.
A reverse image search led us to a tweet from the Ecuadorian media organisation “La Data Ec,” which contained the same visuals. According to the tweet, the incident occurred on 27 April 2023 under an overpass in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
A news report from Primicias, an Ecuadorian media outlet, confirms that the fire was caused by people living on the streets and not by volcanic activity. The local fire department successfully extinguished the fire after eight hours. You can see the news reports here and here to learn more about the incident.
To sum up, the video misattributes an incident in Ecuador to the streets of Veracruz, Mexico, and falsely connects it to volcanic activity.
