Was Shindagha tunnel flooded on Monday?
Dubai Municipality official reveals truth about video that went viral
No, the Shindagha tunnel in Dubai was not flooded during Monday’s downpour, Dubai Municipality has clarified.
A top official with the civic body has confirmed that a viral video showing a flooded underpass, which social media users claimed to be Shindagha tunnel, is not in the UAE.
The video showing more than a dozen vehicles submerged in an open underpass with police sirens blaring in the background went viral yesterday when people started sharing it with the note it was Dubai’s Shindagha tunnel post the downpour since Sunday night.
The video was made in Saudi Arabia and uploaded on YouTube on November 26.
Several residents forwarded the video and its screenshots on various social media platforms believing it to be true.
The video shot by an onlooker standing on the road above the underpass shows some vehicles completely submerged in the floodwater.
However, Taleb Julfar, CEO of Dubai Municipality for Infrastructure Services Sector, quashed the rumours and confirmed that the location shown in the video is not in the UAE.
“This is not Shindagha,” the official told Gulf News yesterday. “You can see this is an open underpass [in the video]. Shindagha is a tunnel. There was no flooding in the tunnel yesterday. It was fine,” he said.
Second-oldest crossing
The iconic tunnel is the second-oldest crossing on Dubai Creek between Deira and Bur Dubai.
The 45-year-old tunnel is currently one of the busiest crossings on the creek, with more than 100,000 vehicles passing through it on an average day.
The crossing is a vital link for thousands of residents, workers and traders who live or work on either side of the historic business districts of Al Ras and Bur Dubai.
Adding that the viral video was not even shot in the UAE, the official urged people not to spread such rumours and fake news misleading commuters and others.
The official said the municipal teams had cleared the flooding of almost all main roads by midday on Monday.
About 1,000 labourers and 500 technicians were working overtime and in three shifts to clear the roads, he told Gulf News on Monday afternoon.