CLAIM
A video viral on social media shows students in a Kerala school battling fire, with serious injuries marring their faces.
The video shows the students escaping a fire in their school, even as fire engines and ambulances arrive on the scene with policemen in tow. The children are also seen running inside a medical camp to get first aid for their injuries.
The video has been shared on widely on Facebook and WhatsApp.
One narrative shared along with the video is that the fire was set by “right-wing elements.”
TRUE OR FALSE?
The video, though real, is of a mock drill that was conducted by the Kerala fire force’s Malappuram unit, the Kuttoor Panchayat and the school, Kuttoor North KMHSS.
The Quint reached out to the Malappuram fire brigade, who confirmed that the incident was just a mock drill.
“Only the school, the fire brigade and the panchayat knew of the mock drill. However, when the smoke rose out of the building, the general public around the area panicked and rushed into the school, believing it to be genuine accident.”Balachandran, Home Guard, Malappuram Fire Department
Balachandran further clarified that the injuries that were seen on the students were the work of teacher in the school, who applied makeup on the students to make the drill more plausible.
Further, the voiceover in the video clearly mentions (in Malayalam) that the incident was a mock drill, and that the children put up a brilliant performance, making it seem as though the incident were real.
(with inputs from Adila Madra.)
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