Misleading claim being spread that CNG carried by crowd had pregnant woman inside
Several photos and videos were recently spread on social media claiming that people carried a CNG auto-rickshaw on their shoulders to rescue a pregnant woman and her child from heavy flood currents in Chattogram. A media outlet also published a report with the same claim. However, a Dismislab fact-check finds no pregnant woman was inside the CNG during the incident. It took place at Naikhongchhari Upazila in Bandarban District.
A Facebook page posted the video on July 9. The 32-second video shows several people placing a CNG auto-rickshaw on a bamboo platform and carrying it on their shoulders while crossing a canal-like water body with strong waves. The caption reads, “They carried the CNG on their shoulders to save an expectant mother and child!! Alhamdulillah!!” Until this report was written, the video had received more than 324,000 views and 966 shares. The post also garnered more than 32,500 reactions. Several Facebook profiles and pages (1, 2, 3, 4) also shared the same video with different captions carrying the same claim.
Meanwhile, on July 10, a Facebook user posted several photos showing people carrying a CNG across the water. The caption said, “They carried the CNG on their shoulders to save a pregnant mother and child!! Alhamdulillah!! Proud people of Chattogram.”
Several Facebook groups (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and a profile also posted the photos with the similar claim.
A report published on the youtube channel of Boishakhi TV News carried the headline, “CNG Carried on Shoulders to Take Pregnant Woman to Hospital During Flood!” Several youtube channels (1, 2, 3, 4) and Instagram accounts (1, 2, 3, 4) also shared the video, claiming that people carried the CNG to take a pregnant woman to the hospital during the flood.
Verifying the claim, Dismislab conducted reverse image searches using different keyframes from the video and found several news reports (1, 2, 3). A YouTube Shorts video published by the news outlet Amar Desh on July 8 was titled, “CNG Lifted on Shoulders Due to Rain.” The last 32 seconds of the 1-minute 20-second video exactly match the viral footage. However, in the first part of the report, the inside of the CNG becomes visible after it reaches dry land, and no one can be seen inside. In other words, people were carrying an empty CNG. The report, however, did not mention the location of the incident.
A keyword search for further details led Dismislab to some news reports (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). According to those reports, the incident took place in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban.
A report by Daily Campus states that the incident occurred in the Rangajhiri canal, area of Baishari Union in Naikhongchhari upazila. It also says that local public representatives and responsible officials confirmed that no “delivery patient” was inside the CNG.
According to a report by Jago News, the incident took place on July 8 at Kagajikhola-Khutakhali Chhara in Ward No. 1 of Baishari Union. Baishari Union Parishad Chairman Md. Alam Company said Khutakhali Khal lies on the border between Ward No. 1 of Baishari Union in Naikhongchhari upazila and Ward No. 1 of Fasiakhali Union in Lama upazila. The area has long lacked a bridge. As a result, local people carried the CNG on their shoulders to cross the canal. The same situation repeats every year during the monsoon at Kagajikhola-Khutakhali Chhara.
Therefore, the viral video shows people carrying a CNG on their shoulders after continuous rainfall increased the water level and current in a stream in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban district. However, the claim that a pregnant woman was inside the CNG is false.
