Indian Israeli drone manufacturing centre in Delhi attacked? Viral claim fact-checked

A viral social media post falsely claimed that a drone facility in Delhi was attacked, leading to a massive explosion.

A social media post has gone viral falsely claiming that a “joint Indian-Israeli drone manufacturing centre” in Delhi was attacked and destroyed in a massive explosion amid the ongoing Middle East conflict sparked by the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28.

A viral claim of an attack on a joint Indian-Israeli drone facility in Delhi has been debunked. The footage actually shows a fire at Machhli Mandi in Uttam Nagar, which damaged numerous slum houses but resulted in no casualties. (PTI/X)

The fake claim circulated on social media with a video of a fire at a fish market in Delhi's Uttam Nagar. The video showed a massive fire and thick smoke. The post was shared by several accounts, which claimed that a joint Indian-Israeli drone manufacturing centre in Delhi had been attacked, resulting in an explosion and fire.

The misleading posts further alleged that around 50 workers, including Indians and Israelis, may have been killed in the incident, though it did not provide any evidence to support the claim.

“According to reports, a joint Indian and #Israeli drone manufacturing center in India's #Delhi has been attacked, resulting in an explosion and fire. Sources say that in this incident, around 50 workers, including Indians and Israelis, may have been killed,” Zabihullah Muhajir's post stated.

Fact check

However, the video being circulated online is in fact a footage of a massive fire that broke out at Machhli Mandi (fish market) in the Uttam Nagar area of Delhi on March 11.

According to officials, the fire started late at night in Matiala village in Uttam Nagar when vendors were packing up their stalls. The Delhi Fire Service received information about the blaze at around 11:50 pm and dispatched multiple fire engines to the site.

The flames quickly spread to nearby slums, damaging a large number of houses in the area. Officials said around 23 fire engines were deployed to control the blaze, which was brought under control after several hours of firefighting operations early Thursday morning. The fire damaged approximately 300 to 400 slum dwellings in the area, according to the Delhi Fire Service.

Authorities said there were no reports of casualties in the incident and investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire.

The fact-check comes amid heightened tensions in the West Asia region, during which several misleading posts and videos related to military attacks and explosions have been circulating online.

(With PTI, ANI inputs)