New Delhi: A video claiming to be that of the Indian Air Force chopper carrying Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat which crashed in Tamil Nadu Wednesday afternoon is being widely shared on social media.
The video shows a helicopter catching flames mid-air as it collapses and heads for an imminent crash.
It has been shared by various handles and has garnered hundreds of retweets and likes.
Bipin Rawat Helicopter Crashed In Tamil Nadu live Video #bipinrawat #helicopter #IndianArmy #BIGBREAKING pic.twitter.com/CgwCqZ0bSr
— Marwadi Club (@MarwadiClub) December 8, 2021
#bipinrawat #IndianArmy #IndianAirForce #HelicopterCrash #TamilNadu
Bipin Rawat Helicopter Crashed In Tamil Nadu Video. pic.twitter.com/qigqKMhtgl
— Sir Don Bradman (@_SirDonBradman_) December 8, 2021
Fact check
The video, however, is not of the chopper carrying late CDS Rawat. It dates back to 2020, and the crash took place in Syria.
According to a report in The Aviation Geek Club, a blog on aviation events, a Syaad Mi-17 helicopter got hit by a missile fired allegedly by Turkish and Al Qaeda- backed militia over Syria in February 2020.
The video was also shared by journalist and aviation analyst Babak Taghvaee on 11 February 2020.. “#Turkish Army targeted a Mi-17 utility helicopter of #Syria Arab Air Force over Al-Nayrab, #Idlib an hour ago. It can be seen crashing,” he had tweeted.
#BREAKING: #Turkish Army targeted a Mi-17 utility helicopter of #Syria Arab Air Force over Al-Nayrab, #Idlib an hour ago. It can be seen crashing. #AlQaeda affiliated militias of #Turkey claim that they did it, but it was beyond range of their MANPADS! pic.twitter.com/kaZfTcoaN6
— Babak Taghvaee – Μπάπακ Τακβαίε – بابک تقوایی (@BabakTaghvaee) February 11, 2020
General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika, and 11 others were killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu Wednesday. Group Captain Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington.
(In collaboration with SM Hoax Slayer)
Also read: ‘Jaldi milte hain’: Parting words Gen. Bipin Rawat, an officer on a mission, said to me last week