FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show An Electric Bus On Fire In Kenya?

A post shared on Facebook claims to show an electric bus that caught fire in Kenya.

Verdict: False 

The post shows a methane-powered bus on fire in Italy, according to Italian news reports. A spokesperson for an Italian fire department confirmed that the bus was fueled by methane.

Fact Check: 

The Facebook post allegedly shows an electric transport bus with flames erupting from it. “HAPPENING NOW ; KENYA ELECTRIC BUS IS ON FIRE ALONG KAREN ROAD,” reads the caption. The post includes a link to a YouTube video with the same title.

The burning bus was not an electric vehicle nor was the video taken in Kenya. An internet search reveals the bus featured in the video was methane-fueled and the incident occurred April 16 in the Italian city of Perugia, according to Italian news outlet Quotidiano Dell’Umbria.

“An urban transport bus caught fire on Saturday afternoon in Perugia,” reads a translated version of the article, which includes images from the scene. “The bus, fueled by methane, exploded on the Sp 344 that goes from Ponte della Pietra to the Marscianese.”

Italian news outlet umbriaON also reported on the incident and shared footage of the burning bus on its YouTube channel. The outlet likewise reported the incident occurred in Italy and that the bus in question was methane-fueled. (RELATED: Facebook Post Attempts To Link Bus Ad About Pediatric Strokes To COVID-19 Vaccines)

Stefano Pettinari, department head of the Perugia firefighters, told Reuters he originally took the video of the burning bus and confirmed it was a methane-powered bus. “A mechanic was testing it due to a reported failure,” he said. “Probably due to an electrical short, it caught fire.”

This is not the first time electric vehicles have been the subject of misinformation. In 2021, Check Your Fact debunked a viral post that claimed to show an “electric car cemetery” in France.

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