Chilean footage misrepresented as Hong Kong firefighters tackling deadly blaze
- Published on December 1, 2025 at 04:26
- 2 min read
- By Richard PYNE, AFP Hong Kong
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As Hong Kong's firefighters were lauded for their heroic efforts to extinguish one of the city's deadliest fires in November 2025, a video was shared in social media posts falsely claiming it showed bodycam footage of a fireman battling the blaze at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex. The footage has in fact circulated online since November 2024, and shows footage captured by a firefighter's GoPro camera while battling a house fire in Chile's capital Santiago.
"Salute to Hong Kong's hero firefighters," reads the traditional Chinese caption of a video shared on X on November 27, 2025.
The 16-second clip shows the point of view of a firefighter as they douse flames while moving through a burning structure.
It surfaced as a devastating fire that tore through a Hong Kong high-rise residential complex was largely extinguished by local firefighters and as rescuers scoured the torched buildings for scores of people still listed as missing (archived link).
The fire at Wang Fuk Court in the city's northern Tai Po district had engulfed seven of the eight high-rises in the densely packed complex and burned for more than 40 hours, claiming at least 146 lives including one firefighter.
Officers were still trying to reach some 40 people who were reported to be missing.
The inferno -- the financial hub's worst in decades -- sent shock waves through the city, which has some of the world's most densely populated and tallest residential blocks (archived link).
The same footage was also shared in similar Facebook and X posts, as well as in Italian and Spanish articles.
The circulating video, however, is not bodycam footage from a Hong Kong firefighter and predates the fire in Tai Po.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clip led to a longer, higher-quality version posted on video camera maker GoPro's verified YouTube channel on November 8, 2024 (archived link).
The falsely shared clip corresponds to the 1:18 mark of the YouTube video.
The video is titled "Firefighter's Raw POV", and its description says it shows firefighters from the Third Fire Company of Ñuñoa putting out flames engulfing a burning house in Santiago, Chile. It adds that the footage was filmed on a GoPro camera by fireman Joseth Abel Espinosa.
The footage was also shared in several news reports, and a screenshot was included in an article by The International Association of Fire and Rescue Services on November 20, 2024 (archived link).
"Espinosa's video not only highlights the dangers firefighters face but also celebrates the dedication and resilience of his team in saving lives and property," reads the article.
A subsequent keyword search found similar footage posted on Instagram on September 19, 2024, and which tagged the Third Fire Company of Ñuñoa (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other false claims about firefighters and firefighting.
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