This Photo Shows a 2012 Tornado Fire in Australia, Not Algeria
The Claim
A photo depicts a recent fire tornado in Algeria.
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Emerging story
A photo purporting to show a fire tornado in Algeria has been circulating on social media. Users shared the photo, alleging that the fire tornado killed at least 37 people and injured 161.
The photo is being shared with captions in various languages.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. The image was cropped from a video shot in Australia.
Misbar also found the photo circulating on Twitter since 2013.
Fire Tornado in Australia
A stream of 100-foot-high flames erupted deep in the Australian bush, where firefighters battled the wildfire for a week.
Chris Tangy, an Australian filmmaker, captured the video on September 11, 2012, while scouting locations for a film shoot near Alice Springs, Australia. According to the filmmaker, he was about 1,000 feet away from the scene.
According to the YouTube caption, the footage shows the first fire tornado ever recorded with a broadcast television camera in HD.
The first confirmed fire tornado occurred on January 18, 2003, in Canberra, Australia. At that time, the fire killed four people and injured 492 others.
Loretta Mikley, a Harvard University researcher in chemical and climate interactions, explained that a fire tornado is formed from an upward vortex of gas, smoke, and fire.
43 Killed in Northern Algeria Forest Fires
According to Algerian local news outlets, 43 people were killed in fires in several Algerian states. Yet, efforts to control fires in Algerian forests and bushes continue.
The Justice Ministry of Algeria announced last week that an investigation into the forest fires that have ravaged 14 provinces nationwide has begun.
The Algerian gendarmerie has stated that thirteen people have been detained on the suspicion that they were involved in starting the fires.
Still, no official Algerian source has said that the fires that broke out in Algeria recently were caused by a tornado.
Additional Reporting by Misbar’s Arabic Team
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