Fact check: No bomb, no casualties in viral Bengaluru bus fire incident [truth here]

A video showing a burning bus on a busy road recently went viral, causing widespread panic. The clip was accompanied by alarming claims that a magnetic bomb targeted a bus in Bengaluru, allegedly carrying three engineers from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who were feared dead.

This report, spread rapidly across social media platforms, was disseminated without proper investigation, leading to unnecessary fear and confusion. Here, we present the facts to clarify the situation and end the spread of such misleading information.

The claim

A video that shows a burning bus on a busy road has been widely shared on social media, with claims that a magnetic bomb targeted a bus in Bengaluru. The posts assert that three engineers from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) were travelling on the bus and are feared dead.

The video, which was shared by one of the Pakistan-based X handles with an alarming claim of a bomb blast, was viewed more than 10,000 times on X (formerly Twitter). It was even reported that the incident took place 4 km west of the DRDO HAL Tejas flight testing facility.

Another account on X, "South Asian Perspective," which happens to even have a paid Gold verified mark, shared the same video and it was viewed over 200 times.

Fact check

International Business Times investigated the incident and the reports on social media only to discover the claims made by some X handles about a magnetic bomb blast are misleading. A simple web search on Google for the term "BMTC Bus fire in Bengaluru" shows multiple reports of the actual incident.

Contrary to the claims made by PAK-based X handles, it is clear that a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus caught fire due to overheating. No casualties were reported, and the news about a magnetic bomb is false and baseless. Bengaluru police and other official sources have confirmed that the incident was purely accidental and not related to any kind of attack.

Upon verification, it was found that:

1. The fire incident occurred on a BMTC bus in Bengaluru due to overheating.

2. There were no casualties reported in the incident.

3. The claims about a magnetic bomb and the deaths of DRDO engineers are completely unfounded.

Bengaluru's official transport authorities and local police confirmed that the fire was accidental. No evidence supports the assertion that a magnetic bomb was involved, nor is there any connection to DRDO engineers.

Since the handles sharing the misinformation are from PAK, it has been identified that Pakistan-based anti-India propaganda accounts are circulating the video of the bus fire with misleading and self-invented claims. This is an attempt to spread panic and set a false narrative against India.