Social media has recently been flooded with alarming images purportedly showing a tragic bus accident in Khagrachari, Bangladesh, with claims that 20 people, including children, lost their lives. These posts describe the accident as involving a bus with about 45 passengers, suggesting that the death toll might rise. However, after thorough investigation, it has been confirmed that these claims are false.

The team at Rumor Scanner verified that the images being circulated actually depict a road accident that occurred on November 4 in Almora district, Uttarakhand, India—not in Khagrachari, Bangladesh. The accident in Uttarakhand involved a bus falling into a 50-meter-deep gorge, resulting in the tragic loss of at least 36 lives and injuries to 27 others. Indian media, including BBC and NDTV, reported on this incident with images and video footage that clearly match the viral photos now circulating with the false claim.

A reverse image search links the images to a BBC report titled "At least 36 die after bus falls into a gorge in India," published on November 4, confirming the photos' origin. Additionally, NDTV released a video of the accident aftermath, showing scenes identical to the photos used in these misleading posts about Khagrachari.

In an effort to verify whether any recent accident in Khagrachari matched this description, a search of reliable Bangladeshi news sources and official channels revealed no such incident. Furthermore, the tourist sites in Khagrachari—including Alutila, Richang Jharna, and Mayabini Lake—were reopened to the public on November 5 after being closed for a month, with no reports of any recent accident disrupting tourism in the area.

In conclusion, the circulating posts claiming a deadly accident in Khagrachari are based on images from a separate tragedy in India and are entirely untrue. This misinformation serves as a reminder to verify sources before sharing sensitive content online.

BOB Post