On January 10, the naval forces of the United States and the United Kingdom intercepted and destroyed 21 drones and missiles launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen. This attack marked one of the worst incidents in the Red Sea shipping zone.
Against this backdrop, a video depicting a warship engulfed in flames is idely circulating on social media, claiming that the USS Bonhomme Richard is on fire following an alleged attack by the Houthis in Red Sea.
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be FALSE.
Performing a Reverse Image Search of the video keyframes, the NM team traced several media reports carrying similar visuals in July 2020, suggesting it depicted the American Navy warship USS Bonhomme Richard ablaze off the coast of San Diego.
Searching further, we found multiple news and video reports from July 2020. A video report by The Global News on YouTube, uploaded on July 13, 2020, clarifies that a US warship stationed at a Naval base in San Diego caught fire, leaving at least 21 people with burn injuries.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department reported an explosion in conjunction with the blaze. Arson charges were filed against one sailor, who was accused of starting the fire out of animosity towards commanders. However, he was found not guilty on all counts during a trial by a Navy judge.
Similar reports about the fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego can be seen here.
The USS Bonhomme Richard was decommissioned following the fire that left it damaged beyond “affordable repair”. The video of its decommissioning ceremony can be seen below.
Thus, we can conclusively say that the viral claim is baseless.
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