Fact Check: Viral Dharali Flood Video is from Himachal Pradesh, Not Uttarkashi
At least four persons were killed and dozens were feared washed away in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand after flash
Claim :
The video shows the tragic incident that occurred in Dharali in Uttarkashi district of UttarakhandFact :
The video is an old one showing an incident that took place in Himachal Pradesh.
At least four persons were killed and dozens were feared washed away in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand after flash floods triggered by torrential rain hit the Kheer Ganga river on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. Rescuers have managed to retrieve two bodies so far. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the village of Dharali to assess the situation. The floods hit hotels and residential buildings in Dharali town, situated 8,600 feet above sea level. Video footage recorded by residents showed giant waves of water gushing through the area, swallowing everything in their path, including people and homes.
Several videos showing the disastrous cloudburst and massive flash flood were captured by residents. Among them, a video showing several men being rescued from the middle of a river stream is in circulation with the claim that it depicts the tragedy that occurred in Dharali, Uttarkashi district.
Fact Check:
The claim is false. The video is an old one showing an incident that occurred in Himachal Pradesh in 2022.
When we extracted keyframes from the viral video and searched them using reverse image search, we found a Facebook post published by Uttarakhand Police on August 6, 2025, stating: #FactCheck – The above video is being circulated by some people on social media and linked to the Harshil, Dharali disaster, which is completely false and misleading. The video has no connection with the Dharali disaster. Please do not spread confusion by putting wrong information on social media.
- We also found a Facebook post from July 2022 showing the same video, with the caption stating that five young men were saved from the strong flow of the Chikni river in Gurukund, Himachal Pradesh.
With the help of locals, including Ashok Kumar, Shashi Thakur, Manoj Garg, Balbir Singh, Golu, Nirmala, Munna Thakur, Karamchand, Pappi, Abhiram, and Baba, they threw ropes and pulled the youths to safety.
