Fact Check: Oil Tanker Explosion Video from 2021 Misrepresented as Attack on Hazira Port by Pakistan

The Indian armed forces thwarted fresh attempts by the Pakistani military to target northern and western cities using drones and missiles on 8th May evening, sources said, adding that at least eight missiles have been brought down so far. All airports are on alert in response to heightened security concerns. The drone and missile attacks by the neighboring country were reported in Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir, prompting authorities to activate the defense systems, sirens and enforce a complete blackout in most areas. Sources said a Pakistan F-16 was shot down by the Indian forces although an official confirmation is awaited.

Amid this, a video of an explosion went viral on social media. The video was claimed to show footage of the Hazira Airport in Gujarat, allegedly attacked by Pakistan.

Fact Check:

The claim is false. The video actually shows an oil tanker explosion that occurred in the UAE in 2021.

Upon investigation, we found no evidence supporting the claim that Hazira Port in Gujarat was attacked by Pakistan. If any such incident or related restrictions had occurred, they would have been officially announced on government websites or reported by mainstream media.

A reverse image search led us to a Facebook page named EI 3ama, which had posted the same video with the caption: "In the UAE, emergency services managed to put out a fire within 30 minutes. In Lebanon, our government sends our firefighters to die, despite knowing about the ammonium nitrate. Writing this with a broken heart—may their souls rest in peace."

We found that the video is identical to the one circulating virally. After comparing both videos, it was confirmed that they are the same.

We then searched using relevant keywords and discovered that, on 07.07.2021, a digital news site named Ahaber had published an article about the incident. The article was titled: "Breaking news: A huge explosion was heard in Dubai! A fire broke out after the explosion."

We found that a picture published with the article closely resembles the viral video.

Later we found PIB Fact check posted the viral video by putting a fake stamp over it. The video was shared with the text, This video is widely circulating on social media with a claim that Hazira Port in #Gujarat has been attacked. This is an unrelated video confirmed to depict an oil tanker explosion. The video is dated July 7, 2021.

Hence, we found that the claim is false. The video actually shows an oil tanker explosion that occurred in the UAE in 2021. There is no connection to the ongoing situation between India and Pakistan.