The viral video does not show the recent fire incident in Changsha, China, which occurred on September 16, 2022. The video is from 2021.
On September 16, 2022, a massive fire broke out in a high-rise building in the central Chinese city of Changsha, in southern Hunan Province. The fire broke out in a 42-story building that housed an office of state-owned telecommunications company China Telecom connected to state broadcaster CCTV. According to the authorities, no injuries were found.
While social media users shared video of a skyscraper on fire, some users also shared a video showing the inside of the tower that caught fire in Changsha, China. The video appears to have been shot by the people stuck in the skyscraper. Nexta, a Belarusian media outlet, shared this video on Twitter, stating that it shows footage of the burning skyscraper in Changsha, China.
The caption for the post reads, “Shots from the firing #Chinese Telecom skyscraper one #Changsha.”
tweet link | archive link
fact check
We began our investigation with a reverse image search on Google, the results of which led us to the same video posted on Facebook by CGTN Frontline on March 10, 2021. According to the video’s description, the video shows a massive fire that broke out in a high-rise building in Shijiazhuang, China.
The caption reads: “A huge fire broke out in a high-rise building in Shijiazhuang, China on Tuesday, and blazing flames quickly engulfed the entire building. Fortunately, no one is trapped in the scene of the fire. The fire was extinguished with no injuries.”
The presence of the video on the Internet since 2021 clearly shows that this video cannot come from the recent fire accident in Changsha.
We noticed that Insider Paper posted the same video on March 9, 2021. The caption for the post reads: “Horror view: Video from inside the burning building #ShijiazhuangChina.”
What happened in Changsha, China?
On September 16, a major fire broke out in a 42-storey skyscraper in the central Chinese city of Changsha, Hunan province. Authorities said the fire was extinguished by 4:20 p.m. local time (4:20 a.m. ET) and there were no known casualties. Watch the video below. Changsha Fire and Rescue dispatched 36 fire engines and 280 firefighters to the scene, the statement said.
Conclusion-
In fact, Crescendo believed the claim, along with the video, to be true NOT CORRECT. The viral video does not show the recent fire incident in Changsha, China, which occurred on September 16, 2022. Available online since at least March 2021, this video shows another fire in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China’s Hebei Province.
Title:This video was not shot inside the skyscraper in Changsha, China; The video is from 2021.
Fact check by: Drabanti Ghosh
Result: NOT CORRECT
