NEW DELHI, June 3: A dramatic footage of a bus hurtling down a slope in Indonesia has made social media users go gaga, who have been mass-reposting the clip, claiming that the mishap took place in Meghalaya.
The claims were, however, found to be false.
“Meghalaya driver went to drink tea, leaving the bus engine on, as he forgot to apply the handbrake, the bus fell into a ditch,” read a Hindi-language tweet posted on May 17.
A fact-check revealed that the accident did take place but in the central Java province of Indonesia and not in Meghalaya.
The clip that went viral on social media shows a bus rolling down a slope before it plunges down into a ravine.
The clip also shows bystanders running to the crash site and people trying to rescue passengers inside the bus.
The video has garnered more than 5.25 lakh views after it was circulated on Facebook alongside a similar claim in Hindi and in English, as well as in a Punjabi.
In the video, a giant sticker that says ‘Pariwisata’, Indonesian word for ‘Tour’, is seen pasted on the rear window of the bus.
The video was also found to be posted as a report on the YouTube channel of Indonesian media outlet merdeka.com on May 7.
According to the report, the tourist bus had fallen into the ravine of Awu River at Guci tourist site in Tegal regency in Indonesia.
“A number of residents who witnessed the incident cried hysterically. They helped to rescue the passengers inside the bus,” the video’s description said.
