Old fire videos circulated as terrorist attack in Savar
Multiple videos have recently been circulated on the social media platform Facebook, claiming that a terrorist attack has taken place in Savar. However, a fact-check by Dismislab reveals that the videos are of two old fire incidents in Dhaka and Khulna.
Claim 1
On July 28, a video was posted from a Facebook profile, with one part of the caption reading, “A bomb attack has occurred at a hospital in Dhaka’s Savar. People are covered in black smoke from the bombing. The extent of casualties is unknown.” In the 2-minute video, a nighttime scene shows several individuals running around.
Up to the publication of this report, the video has been viewed more than 31,000 times and shared more than 600 times. Furthermore, the video has been posted from multiple Facebook profiles (1, 2, 3, 4) with the claim that a terrorist attack is happening in Savar.
During the investigation, conducting a reverse image search using the video’s keyframes led to a video published on June 12 on a page named Khulna City. This post read, “The t/e/r/r/i/f/y/i/n/g scene that was created at the moment the f/i/r/e broke out at Khulna City Medical is truly very p/a/i/n/f/u/l.” An exact match is observed between the circulated video and this video.
Multiple reports regarding this incident are also found in the media through a relevant keyword search. The headline of a report published in Prothom Alo was, “Fire at Khulna City Medical College Hospital, under control after 2 hours.” According to the report, a fire broke out on the ground floor of the 17-story hospital building near the Moylapota intersection of the city at around 9:45pm on June 11. After nearly two hours, at around 11:45pm, members of the fire service brought the fire under control.
Claim 2
Another video was posted from a personal Facebook profile on July 28. One part of the post read, “The situation in Dhaka’s Savar is very bad, a t,e,r,r,o,r,i,s,t a,t,t, a,c,k is taking place, people are running hither and thither to save their lives, local people in Savar, and those who have relatives, everyone keep in touch with them, our Bangladesh is unsafe, general people are realizing it to their bones.” In the 9-second video, a large explosion is seen behind a building, with a coil of smoke rising. Written inside the video is, “Explosive cocktail [improvised bomb] attacks are being carried out in Savar in a barbaric manner.”
Up until the publication of this report, the video has been viewed more than 75,000 times and shared more than 500 times. The video has been posted with the same claim from multiple Facebook profiles (1, 2, 3, 4).
Conducting a reverse search using the video’s keyframes brought up a video report published on Somoy News’s YouTube channel on February 21, 2025. The headline of this report was, “Fire in Khilgaon: Surroundings tremble with the sound of a severe explosion.” The report’s description stated, “22 business establishments have been damaged by a massive fire in Khilgaon’s Taltola in the capital. After the fire broke out at around 7pm on Friday, the entire area trembled with explosions.” The report’s video is an exact match with the circulated video.
Multiple reports regarding the incident are also found in the media through a relevant keyword search. The headline of a report published in Jugantor was, “Fire at sawmill in Khilgaon spreading, cylinders exploding.” The report stated, “A massive fire incident has occurred at a sawmill next to Taltola Market in the capital’s Khilgaon. Ten units of the fire service are working to control the fire. The fire has spread from the sawmill to an adjacent garage. Various vehicles inside the garage are catching fire, and cylinders are exploding.”
That is to say, scenes from two different old incidents have been broadcast with the claim of a terrorist attack in Savar.
