Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Claim
Video of an explosion at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US’ Baltimore before it collapsed.
Fact
2022 video showing an explosion at the Kerch bridge, a bridge connecting Russia and Crimea.
A cargo ship rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US’ Baltimore on Tuesday causing the structure to collapse. Multiple vehicles plunged into the water, and a Coast Guard official said that six people were presumed dead. In this background, multiple social media users shared a fifteen-second-long-video claiming to show an explosion at the Baltimore bridge before it collapsed. Newschecker found that the video is nearly two-year-old, and unrelated to the Baltimore bridge collapse.
Multiple Facebook and X users shared the footage linking it to the Baltimore bridge collapse.
Such posts can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here.
Also Read: GST On Good Morning Messages? No, Clipped Video Report Shared With False Claim
Fact Check/Verification
A Google lens search on the keyframes of the viral video led us to a report by the New York Post, dated October 8, 2022. Displaying the viral footage, the report stated, “A stunning series of photos and videos shows the violent impact of the explosion that tore through Russia’s prized Kerch Strait bridge to Crimea… A monstrous fireball bloomed over all four of the bridge’s vehicle lanes at 6:07 a.m. as a passenger car and a freight truck drove side by side up the incline to its towering arch.”
The video was also shared on YouTube by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on October 8, 2022, stating, “An early morning blast and ensuing fire hit a section of the dual road-and-rail Crimea Bridge over the Kerch Strait and a span of the road bridge collapsed into the sea on October 8.”
Following this, we looked up keywords “Crimea bridge explosion,” and “October 8” on Google which yielded multiple reports on the incident. One such report by CNN featured the viral footage, stating, “…a huge explosion early Saturday severely damaged the only bridge connecting the annexed Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland, crimping a key supply route for Moscow’s faltering war in Ukraine.”
Adding, “At least three people were killed in the explosion, Russian officials said, citing preliminary information. The exact cause of the blast at Europe’s longest bridge is yet to be confirmed. Russian officials said a truck exploded, causing Crimea-bound sections of the bridge’s roadway to fall. A subsequent fire engulfed a train of fuel tanks on a separate, adjacent rail portion of the bridge.”
A report by CNBC carried a screengrab from the viral footage with the caption, “A screengrab from a surveillance footage shows flames and smoke rising up after an explosion at the Kerch bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea, Oct. 8, 2022.” The same was credited to Anadolu Agency, Getty Images.
Multiple other reports carried the viral video to show an explosion at the Kerch bridge in Crimea in October 2022. Such reports can be seen here, here and here.
In July 2023, Ukraine’s intelligence agency had reportedly claimed responsibility for the October, 2022 explosion at the Kerch bridge.
Also Read: Holi 2024- Viral Video Of Auto Rickshaw Overturning After Being Hit By Water Balloon Is Old
Conclusion
We could thus conclude that an old video of an explosion at the Kerch bridge- a bridge connecting Russia and Crimea- has been falsely linked to the recent Baltimore bridge collapse.
Result: False
Sources
Report By New York Post, Dated October 8, 2022
YouTube Video By Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Dated October 8, 2022
Report By CNN, Dated October 8, 2022
Report By CNBC, Dated October 8, 2022
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
