Old Ajman market fire video goes viral as the recent Iranian attack at Dubai airport

Dubai International Airport has been the target of several Iranian drone strikes amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. An attack on 16 March resulted in a fire at a fuel tank, leading to a temporary suspension of all flights. The blaze and thick black smoke were visible for kilometers. Against this backdrop, a video is going viral, showing a fire in a complex with claims that it shows a fire at Dubai airport caused by Iranian airstrikes. The caption of the post states, “The Dubai International Airport was hit badly. A good part has been burning for over 12 hours”.

Let’s check the truth.

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Fact check:

Our investigation began with a reverse image search on Google, and the results led us to a similar video uploaded on YouTube on 5 August, 2020 under the caption, “A massive fire broke out in a fruit and vegetables market of Ajman, UAE.” 

This indicates that the viral video is old and not related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle east.

Using these hints, we conducted further searches and found several news reports regarding this incident. A BBC report titled “Dubai fire outbreak: Ajman market dey burn inside huge firebreak for Dubai Metropolitan Area of United Arab Emirates (UAE),” published on 5 August, 2020 states that there was a major blaze at the Ajman market in the Dubai metropolitan area of the United Arab Emirates. The fire spread rapidly, causing extensive damage, and firefighters rushed to contain the situation. The event drew significant local attention.

Moving forward, we found a video of the same incident broadcast by NYOOOZ TV from a different angle, which you can see below.

So, Taking account of all this evidence, we can understand that footage of a fire at the Ajman fruit market back in 2020 was falsely shared as a recent Iranian attack at Dubai International Airport.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo found that the claim made along with the viral video to be False. This video shows a massive fire at a market in Ajman, UAE, in 2020.