An animation video created by a news channel to show the sequence of events that could have led to the fatal helicopter crash that killed India's Chief Of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others, is being shared falsely claiming it shows satellite video of the incident.
The Chief of Defence Staff General Rawat, his wife, defense assistant, security commandos and an IAF pilot were on board the Mi-series chopper when it crashed between Coimbatore and Sulur in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021. The Indian Air Force (IAF) had said an inquiry has been ordered into the accident and added that Rawat was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course.
The 38 seconds video is being shared with the caption, "Satellite video of helicopter crash in Coonoor. It appears the tail rotor got snapped and the chopper suddenly turned in reverse direction and crashed within 2 seconds. No reaction time."
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Viral on Facebook
The same video is being shared with the false claim on Facebook
BOOM also received the same video on our WhatsApp tipline number (7700906111) from readers asking about it.
Also Read: Video From Arunachal Pradesh Viral As Crash That Killed CDS General Rawat
FACT-CHECK
The video is an animation made by News7 - a Tamil news channel. The clip recreates the sequence of events that might have led to the fatal crash killing CDS Bipin Rawat, his wife, defence assistant, security commandos and an IAF pilot were on board.
The logo - 'News 7 Tamil' is visible in the video. Taking a cue, we searched on YouTube,and found that it is a graphic created by News 7.
The original video was uploaded on December 8, 2021, with the caption when translated from Tamil reads, "How did the Coonoor helicopter crash happen? - Graphical display" by News 7 Tamil Prime's official YouTube channel.
We can see the same sequence of events in the original video as in the viral video.
The Indian Air Force had constituted a tri-service Court of Inquiry to investigate the cause of the tragic helicopter accident on December 8, 2021, and stated that the inquiry would be completed expeditiously and facts would be brought out while cautioning against uninformed speculation.
Several conspiracy theories have flooded social media since the fatal crash with some social media users linking the crash, that killed General Rawat, to either an attack by insurgents, or internal sabotage, or even a communal attack. However, no substantial evidence has been provided to actually back up any of the claims.
Also Read: Conspiracy Theories Grip Social Media Following General Bipin Rawat's Death