Fact Check: Boat Capsize Visuals In Viral Video Not From Mumbai Boat Accident

A viral video showing an overcrowded boat capsizing is falsely claimed to depict a recent Mumbai boat accident. Fact-checking reveals that the video shows a 2024 boat capsizing in Congo's Lake Kivu.

Screenshot of a Facebook post that shared a video wrongly linking it to the Mumbai boat accident that took place on December 18, 2024.

Source : Facebook

A video (here, here and here) showing an overcrowded boat capsizing into a water body is going viral on social media, with claims that it depicts a recent boat accident in Mumbai. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.

Claim: Video of an overcrowded boat capsized in Mumbai.

Fact: The viral video shows a boat capsizing in Lake Kivu, near the port of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on 03 October 2024. While a collision occurred on 18 December 2024 between an Indian Navy speedboat and the ferry Neel Kamal near Mumbai, resulting in at least 15 fatalities, the viral video is unrelated to this incident. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.

To verify details about the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to a YouTube video shared by the ‘Associated Press (AP)’ on 04 October 2024. According to the description of the video, the visuals show an overcrowded boat capsizing on Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which resulted in the deaths of at least 78 people.

Taking a cue from this, we conducted a relevant keyword search to gather more details about the boat accident. This search led us to several reports (here, here, here, & here). According to these reports, the boat accident occurred on 03 October 2024, on Lake Kivu at the port of Goma, Congo. The governor of South Kivu province, Jean-Jacques, stated that nearly 278 people were on board the boat at the time of the accident, and at least 78 people drowned in this incident.

Meanwhile, reports (here, here and here) indicate that on 18 December 2024, a catastrophic collision occurred between an Indian Navy speedboat and the passenger ferry Neel Kamal off the coast of Mumbai. This tragic incident claimed the lives of at least 15 people and is believed to have been caused by a technical malfunction, according to preliminary investigations. Investigation of this incident is still ongoing. However, the viral video in question has no connection to this incident.

To sum up, a video of a boat capsizing in Congo’s Lake Kivu is being shared, linking it to the Mumbai boat accident.

This story was originally published by Factly, as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline and excerpt, this story has not been edited by ABP LIVE staff.