Video shows damaged bridge in Guatemala, not Philippines
- Published on July 19, 2024 at 06:11
- 3 min read
- By Jan Cuyco, AFP Philippines
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"Atugan Bridge Bukidnon collapsed because of heavy rain. Take extra care when travelling, folks, because it's raining a lot," read Visayan-language text superimposed on a Facebook reel shared on July 13, 2024.
The footage, which garnered more than 2,000 views, shows a semi-trailer truck balanced over a gaping hole between a bridge and its approach road.
The video racked up more than 650,000 views in total in similar Facebook posts here, here and here.
Monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides on the Philippine island of Mindanao on July 12 which killed at least seven people, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
However, the video was not filmed in the Philippines.
The Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways refuted claims that the Atugan Bridge was damaged in the flooding (archived link).
"The Atugan Bridge remains fully passable and its structural integrity is uncompromised. It is entirely safe for public use," it posted on Facebook on July 16.
The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Impasug-ong, Bukidnon also posted that the video did not show the Atugan Bridge (archived link).
El Colorado bridge
Reverse image and keyword searches on Google found a similar video posted by Guatemalan news channel Noti7 on Facebook on June 29, 2024 (archived link).
"Trailer stuck on El Colorado bridge, Ministry of Communications working to reopen the road," the Spanish-language post read.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in false posts (left) and in Noti7's report posted on Facebook (right):
Further reverse image searches found a photo of the incident posted on X by Guatemalan television channel TV Azteca Guate on June 28, 2024 (archived link).
Traffic between Guatemala and El Salvador was interrupted following the bridge collapse on the Inter-American Highway in El Progreso, Jutiapa, it reported.
The Guatemalan Tourism Institute issued an advisory on the bridge collapse the same day (archived link).
Torrential rains across Central America left at least 27 dead in landslides and flooding in June, mainly in El Salvador, but also in Guatemala and Honduras.
In Guatemala, authorities reported seven deaths and said flooding had damaged roads and bridges.
Meanwhile, geotagged images on Google confirmed the bridge in the circulating video was not the Atugan Bridge in the Philippines (archived link).
The bridge in the video (below-left) is supported by pairs of pillars, while the Atugan Bridge is held up at regular intervals by wide pillars (below-right).
TV Azteca Guate reported that the driver escaped unharmed.
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