Fact-Check: 2018 Photos of Plane Crash Passed Off as Recent Visuals From Nepal
The pictures are from 2018, when an aircraft crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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A collage of pictures of an aircraft crash is going viral on the internet, where users are linking it to the recent plane crash that happened in Nepal on 15 January.
What is the claim?: People on social media are sharing the photos with a caption in Hindi that says, "Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the tragic plane crash at Pokhara International Airport in Nepal. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief."
(Archives of similar posts can be found here, here, here, and here.)
The context: A Yeti Airlines aircraft crashed in Nepal shortly before landing at Pokhara International Airport, resulting in the death of at least 68 people who were on board.
What is the truth?: While the pictures are from Nepal, they are old and were taken when a US-Bangla Airlines airplane crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal's Kathmandu on 12 March 2018.
How did we find out?: The Quint had reported the incident and covered all the live updates.
It mentioned that a passenger aircraft of US-Bangla Airlines had deviated from the runway and crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport on 12 March 2018.
The unfortunate incident reportedly resulted in the death of over 50 people on board.
The report also carried the first picture of the viral collage.
It was attributed to Associated Press (AP), and we also found the picture on their website.
The article was published on 12 March 2018.
(Source: The Quint)
Further, a keyword search led us to Getty Images, where we found the second image of the viral collage.
It was uploaded on 13 March 2018 and its caption mentioned that an airplane was seen taking off at Kathmandu Airport near the wreckage of the US-Bangla Airlines plane crash.
The image is from Nepal and was uploaded in March 2018.
(Source: Getty Images/Altered by The Quint)
Misinformation around the plane crash in Nepal : Social media users have shared various old pictures and videos claiming that they are from the recent plane crash. Team WebQoof has previously debunked several of these claims which can be found below.
A picture from 2019 showing an aircraft that hit two helicopters during take off at Nepal's Lukla Airport was linked to the recent mishap.
Several news outlets shared an eleven-year-old photo of a plane crash in Nepal, claiming that it showed visuals of the recent plane crash.
Conclusion: The collage of pictures is from 2018 and is unrelated to the recent plane crash that happened in Nepal.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
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