Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Claim
Nigerian man dies by suicide at London’s Heathrow airport.
Fact
Video dates back to 2018 when a man sustained severe injuries after jumping off a railing, following an argument, at the Atlanta airport in the US.
Several social media users are circulating a distressing video, claiming that it shows a Nigerian man killing himself by jumping off a floor at London’s Heathrow Airport as he did not want to be deported to his country. We received this video on our Whatsapp tipline (9999499044), too, requesting it to be fact-checked.
The archived versions of the tweets can be seen here and here.
Also Read: Did The Simpsons Predict Twitter’s ‘X’ Rebrand? No, Viral Image Found To Be Edited
UK Court Rules Deportation Plan Unlawful
Under an initial 140 million pound ($177 million) deal struck last year, Britain planned to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrive on its shores a distance of more than 6,400km to Rwanda.
Last month, a British court ruled that the government’s controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful as the African nation cannot be considered a safe third country. The ruling came as a major setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who had pledged to clear a backlog of asylum-seeker applications, while announcing new measures aimed at curbing the number of people reaching the United Kingdom by crossing the English Channel on small boats.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Nigerian suicide Heathrow”, which did not throw up any credible news reports, raising our doubts.
A reverse image search of keyframes of the video led us to this Daily Mail report, dated March 1, 2018, featuring the viral video. The report stated that a passenger was taken to hospital after throwing himself off a balcony at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, USA. “An airport spokesman said the man got into a disagreement with two other passengers prior to falling, adding that he suffered significant injuries,” read the report, adding that despite the severity of his injuries, the man, who appeared to be intoxicated, was ‘alert, conscious and breathing’ when medical staff took him away.
We also came across this Fox News report, dated March 1, 2018, stating that a man, later identified as 32-year-old Kyle Phillips, launched himself off a second-floor walkway at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and is said to have sustained serious injuries during the harrowing fall.
“The man, who was filmed falling by travellers in the concourse below, was said to be arguing with a fellow passenger near the Terrapin Tap Room on the second level of concourse D, WXIA-TV reports. He was also becoming “visibly irate and belligerent,” according to Reese McCranie, the communications director for the airport,” read the report. Similar articles can be seen here and here, confirming that the viral video is of an incident that happened in 2018 at the Atlanta airport.
Also Read: AI Trumps Humans? No, CGI Video Of Robot Beating Athlete In Table Tennis Rally Goes Viral
Conclusion
A 2018 video of a man jumping off the second floor at the Atlanta airport in the US following an argument falsely shared as Nigerian immigrant dying by suicide at London’s Heathrow airport.
Result: False
Sources
Daily Mail report, March 1, 2018
Fox News report, March 1, 2018
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form.
Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
