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An image has been shared repeatedly on Facebook alongside a claim it shows a collapsed bridge in Myanmar on August 8, 2022. The posts circulated online one day after the anniversary of a 1988 uprising against military rule that ended in a bloody crackdown. The claim, however, is false. A local search and rescue team told AFP on August 9 that the bridge had not collapsed. The photo -- originally captured by an AFP photographer -- shows a bridge that collapsed in northeastern Taiwan in October 2019. The photo was shared here on August 8, 2022. It claims that Myanmar's second Pathein bridge -- which was completed in July 2020 -- collapsed, resulting in some casualties. The caption reads: #Breaking News / No. 2 Pathein bridge collapsed. (at 12:17) Number of casualties is expected to be higher. Emergency rescue is urgently needed. Pathein is the capital of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady region, just west of the Southeast Asian country's largest city Yangon. A screenshot of the misleading post taken on August 9, 2022 The post circulated one day after the 34th anniversary of the 1988 uprising against military rule in Myanmar, which ended in a bloody crackdown. The Southeast Asian nation has spiralled into civil war since a military coup in February last year ousted civilian leader Aung San Su Kyi. The putsch has sparked renewed fighting with established ethnic rebel groups in border areas, while dozens of civilian People's Defence Force militias have also sprung up to battle the military. One such militia is based in Ayeyarwady, according to local media . The photo was also shared here , here and here alongside a similar claim. The claim, however, is false. A spokesperson for non-profit social rescue team Batsone Luhmu Kunyiyay- Pathein told AFP on August 9 that the bridge had not collapsed. Nothing happened to the bridge, the spokesperson said. People are travelling across the bridge normally. Photo from Taiwan A reverse image search found the photo was originally published by AFP. It was taken on October 1, 2019 by AFP photographer Sam Yeh after a bridge collapsed in the Nanfangao fish harbour in Suao township in Taiwan. The caption reads: A fishing boat is pictured after it was crushed when a bridge collapsed in the Nanfangao fish harbour in Suao township on October 1, 2019. The bridge collapsed in northeastern Taiwan on October 1 injuring at least 14 people as it smashed down onto fishing vessels moored underneath and sent a petrol tanker plummeting into the water. Sam YEH / AFP. Below is a screenshot comparison between a misleading Facebook post (left) and the AFP photo (right):
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