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.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Viral video shows an accident involving a Vande Bharat Express and another train.
Fact
Viral video actually shows a railway collision in Chile in June 2024 that killed two people.
Several users are circulating a video on Facebook, claiming it shows the site of a devastating accident, involving a Vande Bharat Express and another train. The posts can be seen here, here and here.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Vande Bharat express accident”, which did not throw up any credible news reports about such an accident.
We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this AFP report on Youtube, dated June 20, 2024, headlined, “Railway collision in Chile kills two people”. “A railway collision in San Bernardo has killed two people and injured several others. The accident between a freight train and a test train occurred just south of Chile’s capital Santiago,” read the description of the video. A further search led us to multiple reports, including Reuters and AP, on the collision.
“Two people were killed and nine injured on Thursday when a passenger train in a test run by Chile’s state railway company (EFE) collided with a cargo train operated by private rail firm Fepasa, EFE said. In the San Bernardo area on the outskirts of the capital shortly after midnight, the EFE train collided with the northbound Fepasa train carrying about 1,346 metric tons of copper,” read the Reuters report, June 21, 2024.
A comparison of screengrabs confirms it is the same accident, while we also noticed that the cargo train seen in the viral video carried the name “FEPASA”.
Also Read: ‘Mr Bean’ Bedridden? Manipulated Photo Of Rowan Atkinson Goes Viral
Conclusion
Video of train accident in Chile falsely claimed as showing a Vande Bharat Express that collided with another train.
Result: False
Source
AFP report, June 20, 2024
Reuters report, June 21, 2024
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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.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
