The 45-day event, Mahakumbha is set to witness the largest human gathering, with over 40 crore attendees expected to visit Prayagraj. The Mahakumbh commenced on Monday and the same day a claim was widely shared on social media platforms. A video was shared with the claim that a hospital in Mahakumbh premises caught fire with over eight people sustaining injuries.
During the investigation, we found that the viral claim was false and the video was actually of a mock drill.
Claim:
X user Saima Khan shared the claim along with the video on her profile.
Other users too are sharing the same video with similar claims.
Investigation:
We started the investigation by uploading the video in the InVid tool and running a reverse image search on the keyframes obtained from the same.
We found the video uploaded on the YouTube channel, @PrayagrajAmanVibes. The video was uploaded eight days ago.
The caption of the video said: A trial [Mock Drill] of Kumbh mela Fire Accident in Hospital Demo#kumbh2025 #prehospitalcare
We also found a post by UPPOLICE FACT CHECK on X.
The post clarified that the video was that of a mock drill.
We also found a post on the Instagram handle of UP Fire Emergency Services about the mock drill.
Similarly, a video of this mock drill was shared on the X handle of Fire & emergency Mahakumbh 2025. The visuals in the video looked similar to the viral video.
We also found a post by Vaibhav Krishna IPS, DIG Kumbh, Prayagraj.
He too clarified through the post that the video was of a mock drill and the viral claims were false and mere rumors.
Conclusion: A video of a mock drill is being misrepresented as a real fire incident at a hospital within the Mahakumbh 2025 premises in Prayagraj. The viral claims are false.
