Fact Check: Viral Video Falsely Claims Landslide Blocked Pokhara–Mugling Road; Footage Is from 2024 Jhyaple River…

Kathmandu. A video circulating widely on social media claims to show a recent landslide blocking the Pokhara–Mugling road section. The footage depicts passenger buses and freight vehicles buried under debris and has been shared millions of times across multiple platforms.

However, an investigation by the TechPana Fact-Check Desk found the claim to be false. The viral video is nearly two years old and actually shows the devastating Jhyaple River landslide in Dhading, which occurred on September 28, 2024, along the Nagdhunga–Mugling road section, not the Pokhara–Muglin highway.

Claim

On July 13, a TikTok user with the ID 'kushalchhetry823' shared an 18-second video claiming that the Pokhara–Mugling road had been blocked due to heavy rainfall. The video includes the on-screen text: "Pokhara–Muglin road is blocked due to today's rain."

The footage shows passenger buses, freight containers, and other vehicles buried by a massive landslide. It also captures a large tree lying across the road, a long traffic jam, and people wearing raincoats and carrying umbrellas moving around the affected area.

As of the time of publication, the video had been viewed more than 3.4 million times, received over 150,000 likes, and attracted 1,535 comments on TikTok. See the video, the recorded video, and the screenshot.

Investigation

The same footage was also uploaded on July 13 by the YouTube channel Raithane Nepal, with the caption: "This is the situation, everyone should be aware." Watch the video and screenshot.

Another YouTube channel, @worldcup2026-s1h, shared the identical video on the same day with the caption: "The Pokhara–Muglin road section is blocked from today." Watch the video and screenshot.

The TechPana Fact-Check Desk extracted keyframes from the viral video and conducted a Google Reverse Image Search.

The search led to a post published by Kantipur on X (formerly Twitter) on September 28, 2024. The post contained the same footage with the caption "Cars buried by landslide" and identified the location as Jhyaple Khola on the Prithvi Highway. The post also used the hashtag #JhyapleKholaLandslide. See the post and screenshot.

To verify the incident further, additional searches were conducted using keywords such as "landslide," "Jhyaple Khola landslide," "Jhyaple River landslide," and "Mugling road landslide," while limiting results to content published during the week starting September 28, 2024.

The search found a Kantipur news report published on 30 September, 2024 under the byline of Bimal Khatiwada, titled "Jhyaple Khola ma Bhawitabya or Laparwahi?" (written in Nepali)

According to the report, the landslide struck Jhyaple Khola in Dhading on the night of 27 September, 2024 along the Nagdhunga–Mugling road section. Around 23 small and large landslides occurred within a short stretch, approximately 2.7 kilometres from the Nagdhunga checkpoint, burying several vehicles.

By the time the report was published on September 30, authorities had recovered 35 bodies, while rescue operations were still ongoing. Read the news.

Claim

A viral video claims that a major landslide recently occurred on the Pokhara–Muglin road section.

Claimants

The misleading claim was circulated by social media users, including TikTok account 'kushalchhetry823' and YouTube channels Raithane Nepal and @worldcup2026-s1h.

Facts

The investigation established that the footage is not recent but dates back to September 28, 2024. The video had already been published by mainstream media, including Kantipur, at the time of the disaster.

The footage does not show the Pokhara–Mugling road. Instead, it captures the aftermath of the Jhyaple River landslide in Dhading, located on the Nagdhunga–Mugling road section, approximately 2.7 kilometres from the Nagdhunga checkpoint.

The landslide, which occurred on the night of 27 September, 2024, buried multiple vehicles and resulted in dozens of fatalities.

Conclusion

The claim is false. The viral video does not depict a recent landslide on the Pokhara–Mugling road. It shows the Jhyaple River landslide in Dhading that occurred in September 2024. Recirculating the old footage while presenting it as a recent incident has spread misinformation about the current road situation.

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