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| - Fact Check: Old video from Syria shared as CDS Bipin Rawat's chopper crash
A video of a helicopter bursting into flames mid-air and going down has been circulating on the Internet. Many social media users said this was the crash that killed CDS General Bipin Rawat. India Today's AFWA probes the truth.
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India Today Fact Check
This is a Syrian military helicopter that was shot down by rebels in Idlib in 2020. CDS Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel died in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8.
In an unfortunate incident, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other people on board IAF chopper Mi-17V5 died on December 8 after it crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.
As netizens paid tributes, a video of a helicopter bursting into flames mid-air and going down also started circulating on the Internet. Many social media users said this was the crash that killed CDS Rawat.
“Sea how the #HelicopterCrash happen in #TamilNadu of #IndianArmy in which Gen #BipinRawat also on bord with his family. #_ #Ooty Security,” read the caption along with the video.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here, here and here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading. This is a 2020 video that shows a Syrian helicopter being shot down by rebels in Idlib.
AFWA probe
Using Yandex tool, we broke the video up into key frames and conducted a reverse image search. We found that the video has been in circulation on the Internet since at least early 2020.
The same video was published by “The Telegraph” on February 11, 2020. The title says, “Syrian helicopter shot down by rebels in Idlib”.
Screenshots from the same video were also uploaded by the Associated Press.
The caption of the images reads, “Syrian government helicopter bursts in flames after it was shot by a missile in Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. Syrian rebels shot down a government helicopter Tuesday in the country’s northwest where Syrian troops are on the offensive in the last rebel stronghold.”
Multiple other media reports, while reporting on the incident at that time, had also carried screen grabs from the video in question.
CDS Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel died in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8.
Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu.
His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country.— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2021
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has initiated an inquiry and is yet to issue an official statement on the reason that led to the crash.
However, it is clear that the video in circulation is old and from Syria. It is not related to the chopper crash in Tamil Nadu that took the life of CDS Rawat.
READ: Fact Check: Old, unrelated images falsely linked to CDS Bipin Rawat’s chopper crash
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