Fact Check: No, Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Sea Link wasn't hit by high tides

An old, unrelated clip has gone viral on social media with the claim that Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Sea Link was engulfed by high tides amid recent heavy rains in the city.

Old video shared as Bandra-Worli Sea Link getting by high tidesTwitter

As heavy rains lashed parts of Mumbai, citizens took to social media to share their ordeals pertaining to water-logging and disruption of various services. At the same time, a video of a bridge getting engulfed in strong tidal waves is doing the rounds on the Internet as Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Sea Link getting submerged.

In the clip that has now gone viral, two individuals can be seen on the bridge trying to escape the high tide. While one runs back after seeing the rising tide but seems to be swept away, the second person who is on a two-wheeler drives away quickly.

"I hope the 2nd guy who was walking so slowly on that bridge is alive! He shouldn't have been there. That was a scary wave. Anybody got the full story? Worli sea face?" wrote a Twitter user, sharing the footage. The clip, so far, has garnered more than 14,000 views.

I hope the 2nd guy who was walking so slowly on that Bridge is alive! He shouldn't have been there. That was a scary wave. Anybody got the full story? Worli Sea face ? @AltNews #mumbaifloods pic.twitter.com/i5HDzi3pEX
— Suby #ReleaseSanjivBhatt‏‎‎ (@Subytweets) August 6, 2020

Fact-Checking the video

The footage, which apparently makes an appearance every year during monsoon, has nothing to do with the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link, as claimed by a section of the netizens.

A reverse image search of a screengrab from the video reveals that it is actually from Minicoy island in Lakshwadeep and was uploaded on YouTube in 2017 with a caption - "Minicoy Eastern Jetty, Rough Seas".

Besides, the clip itself has several clues which are enough to debunk the claim. For instance, the footage shows two individuals on the bridge, one on foot and another on what appears to be a motorcycle. But, as per the rules, pedestrians, two-wheelers and three-wheelers are not allowed on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

Secondly, Mumbai's famous sea link has huge pillars and is suspended by tall white cables, unlike the bridge in the footage which is held upright from the ground. Any Mumbaikar will easily point out that it is not the sea-bridge that connects Bandra in the west of Mumbai to Worli in the southern part of the city.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the video which is being shared as Bandra-Worli Sea Link getting consumed by high tides amid intermittent rain is false.