Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, a video has surfaced online purportedly showing the gates of the Kishanganga Dam collapsing. The video, which appears to be a televised news broadcast, features a voiceover alleging that the dam has failed.
The video is shared on Facebook with a caption: “India’s Kishanganga Dam gates bursted after India tried to stop water flow towards Pakistan.”
Here’s the link to the above post. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be MISLEADING.
A Reverse Image Search of the video keyframe traced the footage back to a clip uploaded by US-based news channel CBS17 on May 16, 2019. The original video documents a dam collapse at Lake Dunlap in Texas, United States. Details such as the date “May 14, 2019” and the name “Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority” appear in the surveillance footage but are hidden under graphics in the viral version. Additionally, the CBS17 video carries the watermark “Dunlap_Dam” in the bottom right corner, which has been cropped out in the altered clip now being circulated.
Further investigation uncovered several May 2019 reports by news outlets like CNN and ABC News, confirming that the dam failure occurred due to a spillage issue, which led to a significant drop in Lake Dunlap’s water level. The dam, over 90 years old at the time, experienced what was described as a partial structural failure. The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority subsequently issued warnings, urging residents to conserve water.
Importantly, no reliable Indian or international news outlets have reported any structural failure or water overflow at the Kishanganga Dam.
Thus, it is confirmed that the video showing a collapsed dam is from Texas in the US, NOT India’s Kishanganga dam.
