![\\"logo\\"](\\"/img/logo-dpa-factchecking.svg\\"/) *About ![\\"IFCN](\\"/img/ifcn-certificate.png\\"/) ![\\"EFCSN](\\"/img/efcsn- certificate.png\\"/) # False information about “child corpses” found after the floods in Germany 9.8.2021, 17:20 (CEST) “600 corpses of babies and children” were reportedly found in houses in Germany following the floods which hit the country, suggests a Swiss user on Facebook (archived here). The latter shares a video of a German reporter who, according to her, speaks “about the experience traumatic for the residents” who would have found these bodies. ## Assessment This is false. German police have denied rumors that 600 Bodies of children were reportedly found after the floods. These allegations are based on a report by a German television channel which mentions children who died due to floods; but the number of 600 does not draw its origin from any fact. ## Facts Many Internet users (some of whose publications have already been the subject of fact-checks here and here) have shared this false information in recent weeks, claiming that 600 bodies of children would have been found following floods in the German town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, located in Rhineland-Palatinate. This region was particularly affected by floods that hit the country in July 2021. During a press conference about the flooding on July 29, 2021, police in the region called the rumors “fake news” (as of 11:11). Florian Stadtfeld of the Koblenz city police called the population to refer to reliable sources and not share messages thoughtless on social media. On this date, the results of the floods in Rhineland-Palatinate amounted to 134 deaths, according to the police, who did not wanted to give more information about the victims out of respect for the families. These rumors seem to have emerged following a report from the television channel German television n-tv, broadcast on July 22, 2021. The Swiss Internet user also shares an extract from this report to support his remarks. " This reporter in southern Germany talks about the traumatic experience of local residents who found bodies/bodies of children in their own houses left by the floods,” she wrote. In the report in question, a journalist stands in front of a pile of debris and reports on the situation in the region. In the extract which circulating on social networks, we can hear him say: “They experienced traumatic things. We were able to speak with residents who found bodies of children in their homes, washed up from somewhere further away. And On the other hand, the question is, will there be more floods? ". THE full report is not available online. This report is real. German news channel Deutsche Welle (DW) notably contacted n-tv, which indicated that certain people had spoken effect of deceased children. “One was (...) a resident of Altenburg who recounted his experiences on the night of the flood to our reporter and whose descriptions were included in the report,” said a spokesperson for the group to DW. However, in addition to being refuted by the police, the number of “600 child corpses” is never mentioned in the extract from the n-tv report. The Facebook user also says that “the regional authorities refused that firefighters and soldiers come to the aid of the population in this region ". This statement is also false. There is no situation known situation in which rescuers were stranded or were not authorized to travel to a disaster area. The verification team facts from the dpa in Germany has already written several fact-checks on this subject (here and here). (Inventory as of 08/09/2021) ## Links Facebook post (archived) AFP fact-check (archived) Fact-check Correctiv (archived) About the floods in Rhineland-Palatinate (archived) German police press conference (archived) About the number of victims (archived) DW fact check (archived) Extract from the n-tv report (archived) Fact check dpa I Fact check dpa II Contact the dpa fact-checking team: factcheck- switzerland@dpa.com powered by dpa-newslab | Imprint | Privacy | About:
600 bodies of babies and children have been found in houses left behind by floods in Germany