Video Showing People Stuck Under Snow in Sikkim Viral as One From Amarnath Yatra

This video shows a massive avalanche that struck Sikkim's Nathula border area in April.

Rujuta Thete
WebQoof
Published:
<div class="paragraphs"><p>Fact-check: These video are from avalanche that hit Sikkim in April 2023 and are not from Amarnath Yatra.</p></div>
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Fact-check: These video are from avalanche that hit Sikkim in April 2023 and are not from Amarnath Yatra.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

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A set of two videos showing an avalanche is going viral on social media. Another video shows several people being rescued from under a heavy blanket of snow.

The claim: The claim states that the video shows people trapped under snow in Amarnath, Jammu & Kashmir, following an avalanche.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives can be seen here, here, here and here. We also received a query about this video on our WhatsApp Tipline.)

Where is the video from?: The video is from Sikkim when a massive avalanche hit the Nathula border area on 4 April.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the video and came across reports from April.

  • A video report by EastMojo uploaded on YouTube on 4 April carried the same video as the first video from the set of viral visuals.

  • The description of the video stated that an avalanche hit the Jawaharlal Nehru road, connecting Gangtok with Nathula Pass at about 12:15 PM on 4 April and trapped several people in the snow.

  • It also mentioned that the same area experienced another slide at 5:35 PM on the same day.

The report was published on 4 April 2023. 

(Source: HT/Screenshot)

  • Another similar picture was uploaded by news agency Reuters about avalanche that hit Sikkim.

This avalanche happened in Sikkim.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

  • We found the second video on YouTube uploaded by a user 'Poth Chola' on 6 April.

  • The video's title read, "Deadly Avalanche Hits Nathu La in Sikkim".

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Confirmation from a local reporter: We contacted a local reporter from Sikkim, Sherab Palden Bhutia, from The Sikkim Chronicle.

  • He confirmed that both videos are from Sikkim and not the Amarnath Yatra.

Conclusion: Clearly, these video are from an avalanche that hit Sikkim in April 2023 and are not from Amarnath Yatra as claimed.

(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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