Fact Check: Video of driver-less bus falling into a ditch makes a false claim
A video of a red-coloured bus running down a slope is going viral on social media with the narrative that the incident happened in Meghalaya. Amidst the screams of the people, the bus can be seen falling into a ditch.
A video of a red-coloured bus running down a slope is going viral on social media with the narrative that the incident happened in Meghalaya. Amidst the screams of the people, the bus can be seen falling into a ditch. The video is shared with a claim “Bus driver in #Meghalaya the driver forgot to put brake to the bus and went to drink coffee the bus suddenly moved as the engine was running The bus fell into a big hole because the hand brake was not applied.”
The claim implies that the driver of the bus who went for tea had left the engine running without applying hand brakes in Meghalaya.
Fact Check:
The claim is false. The bus accident video is from Indonesia, where several people were injured and one person died.
When we performed Google reverse image search on the extracted key frames from the video, we found several news reports published on May 8, 2023. The screenshots seen in the viral video can be seen in these news reports.
According to wartabanjar.com, a tourist bus carrying pilgrims from Jakarta rolled into a ravine in the Guci area, Bumijawa District, Tegal, Central Java. Preliminary data reveals that one person died while dozens were injured.
According to inforadar.disway.com, the incident of the bus moving without a driver and then entering the ravine under the bridge was recorded by the residents at the location. Residents suspect that the handbrake might not be working properly and tire chocks are also not large enough. As the passenger load was heavy, the bus began moving by itself without the driver.
Hence, the viral video is not from Meghalaya but is from Indonesia. The claim is false.