Terrified diners flee busy restaurant – but not all is as it seems
A stampede of panicked customers was captured on CCTV running from a bar in Brazil, with some abandoning their belongings and others hiding under tables.
The terrified diners thought they were about to be robbed so they ran for safety, but they quickly learned this wasn't the case at all.
In a now-viral video originally shared by local media, customers can be seen enjoying food and drinks on the outside pavement before one by one they get up and flee, flipping chairs as they go.
The incident occurred on September 17 at the Cervejaria Alphaiate bar and restaurant, which is located in the city of Recife.
At the start of the video, a woman runs past the diners as she turns around and looks at two men who were running behind her, one of them holding a dog.
On seeing this, one woman stands from her chair and begins to walk away quickly as the rest of her group stands and follows.
Before long, other guests begin to follow in fear, some seen dragging their companions.
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Suddenly, the entire restaurant appears to clear out as people rush down the street.
The restaurant waiter can also be seen in the footage looking confused before eventually taking off after the stampede of diners.
Until this point, it's hard to see what caused all the commotion, but suddenly another group of runners swoop past the venue.
'Robbers' turn out to be CrossFit runners
According to witnesses who spoke with local media, diners thought the people were running away from danger. But they quickly learned they were just an exercise group participating in a CrossFit class.
One diner, Amyr Kelner, told media it all happened "really fast."
"People were coming slowly, then, when they got close to our table, they started running," he told local media source G1.
"I told my friend to call and hold her bag. She got up and, at that moment, someone shouted that it was a robbery. That’s when I got up, shouted that it was also a robber and ran away."
O QUE ACONTECEU AQUI? - Vídeo mostra clientes de um bar em Boa Viagem, na zona sul de Recife, levantando e correndo de um suposto arrastão. Por fim, descobriu-se que se tratava de uma turma de crossfit que passava em frente ao estabelecimento. Assista: pic.twitter.com/cazAQTyIAU
— O Tempo (@otempo) September 22, 2022
Mr Kelner revealed that a few minutes went by before they all realised "nothing was happening".
"Everyone started laughing and went back to the tables as if nothing had happened," he said.
The restaurant sent a statement to the local media and said that everything had been a misunderstanding, it's been reported.
They even shared a video on social media mocking the situation.
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