Video of Explosion in Mongolia Falsely Shared as One From South Korea

A gas truck exploded in Mongolia's capital, killing at least 20 people and damaged several buildings.

Fact-Check: The video is from Mongolia.

(Source: The Quint) 

A video of an explosion due to a gas truck blast is being shared as one from South Korea.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is this visual from South Korea?: No, the claim is false.

• The video of the explosion is from Mongolia. Several news reports carrying the same video mentioned this.

How did we find out?: At first, we divided the viral video into multiple keyframes and ran a Google reverse image on some of them.

• We came across a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the Netherlands-based news organisation BNO News which shared the same video on 24 January.

• The video's caption read that the incident took place in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar.

• Taking this as a cue, we ran a relevant keyword search and came across reports by Mirror Now and Reuters from 24 January, which is the same as BNO News.

• Mirror Now uploaded the same video as the viral video with the title, "Mongolia Gas Blast Claims Lives, 20 Dead And Several Injured In Truck Blast" on 24 January.

• Below are the similarities between the two videos.

Here are the similarities between the two videos. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

• Reuters wrote that several people and firefighters, lost their lives after a truck carrying "liquified natural gas" exploded in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

• To verify further, we looked for the location on Google Maps and came across an area which matched a frame in the viral video.

Here are the similarities between the two. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

Conclusion: Clearly, the video is being falsely shared as one from South Korea.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818, or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)