Footage of a gas cylinder exploding in Indonesia in June 2024 due to a loose hose was re-circulated by a Sri Lankan social media post that falsely claimed a mobile phone was the cause. Indonesian media quoted a homeowner as saying the accident happened because the cylinder was not properly connected to a gas stove, and police said the stove was not in use at the time of the incident.
“Please do not place your mobile phone near gas cylinders,” said a Sinhala-language Facebook post shared on July 8.
“Please share this video with as many loved ones as possible. Please be careful,” the caption continues. He repeated the false allegations in Tamil.
The image was shared here, here and here along with similar false claims.
However, the video does not show a gas explosion caused by a cell phone.
“Loose hose”
A reverse image search uncovered photos showing scenes from the fake video reported by Indonesian media outlet Kompas.com on June 7, 2024 (archive link).
According to reports, on June 6, a three-kilogram LPC cylinder exploded in a house in Jakarta, leaving a woman with minor injuries to her leg.
The homeowner reportedly suspects the explosion may have been caused by a gas cylinder that wasn’t properly connected, and Indonesian police told the news agency that the stove was not in use at the time of the incident.
Below is a comparison screenshot of the fake post (left) and the photo published by Kompas.com (right).
The same video was shared here by an Indonesian Instagram account on June 7, 2024. According to the post, the explosion was caused by a leaking gas cylinder.
The bottom right corner of the video shows the date June 6, 2024, which matches the date of the incident as reported by local media, just after 6am, as highlighted in the image below.
Below are screenshots comparing the video from the fake post (left) with a clip from an Indonesian Instagram account (right).
AFP earlier denied another false claim about a gas cylinder in Indonesia after local media reported a similar explosion in a Jakarta kitchen.
