Video of rescue operation in Uttarakhand is falsely shared as the Indian army demolishing Chinese bunkers. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 22, 2021
A post accompanying a video that seems to be of a rescue operation, that shows JCBs clearing the debris is being shared across social media with a claim that the video shows Indian army soldiers demolishing Chinese bunkers near Pangong lake. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Indian army soldiers demolishing Chinese bunkers near Pangong lake.
Fact: The video actually shows rescue operations for missing people after the glacier burst in Uttarakhand carried out by ITBP and other organisations. Multiple news agencies have reported the same video identifying the video as ITBP rescue operation in Uttarakhand. Even the ITBP tweeted the same video iterating the same. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the screenshots of the video in the post led us to ANI news video dated 15 February 2021, which reported the same incident. The title of the video reads ‘Chamoli disaster: 56 bodies recovered; rescue operation underway’. According to the description, the video shows rescue operations carried out at Raini village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district by ITBP personnel along with NDRF, after a flash flood that was triggered due to glacier burst on Feb 07 in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli. Further, ANI has also reported another video of the rescue operation which can be seen here.
Further Google search with keywords led us to a tweet thread dated 15 February 2021 by ITBP which shared the same video along with a set of images. According to the tweet, the video shows the search operation of ITBP along with other sister organizations for those missing due to the glacier burst.
ITBP personnel with other sister organizations looking for missing at Raini, #Tapovan, #Uttarakhand today. #UttarakhandGlacierBurst pic.twitter.com/GB7aMiCucy
Further, Economic Times has also reported the same ANI news video, which reiterates that the video is related to the rescue operation in Uttarakhand and not the Indian army demolishing Chinese bunkers. Also, we could not find any news reports or official statements from the government which mention the Indian army demolishing Chinese bunkers near Pangong lake.
In view of the talks between Indian and Chinese armies regarding the disengagement process on the banks of the Pangong lake in Ladakh, videos like these are being circulated on social media with misleading claims.
To sum it up, a video of a rescue operation in Uttarakhand is falsely is shared as the Indian army demolishing Chinese bunkers.