2019 Photo Of Soldiers Coffins Being Transported Shared As Recent

A photo from 2019 showing coffins wrapped in the Indian tricoloured flag being transported in an aircraft is being shared with false claims as from the recent clashes between India and China in Galwan valley, Ladakh. 

The image claims to show that the coffins belong to the 20 soldiers who died when soliders of the Indian Army and the People Liberation Army, China clashed at the Line of Actual Control in Galwan Valley in Ladakh on the night of June 15. Hindi news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh also carried the image claiming it was recent.

BOOM found that the photo dates back to atleast February 2019, and was being shared on social media after the terrorist attack on a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which left 40 personnel dead.

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The viral image is linked to defence incidents and casualties as it shows a number of labelled coffins, draped in the Indian flag, being transported in a military aircraft.

BOOM looked for this image online, and found that TV9 Bharatvarsh had used the same image in a photo compilation covering the Galwan incident with the caption claiming to show that the bodies of the soldiers who passed away in the recent clashes were being transported home. 

The story link can be found here and an archived link can be found here.

Further, many people are reviving this on social media as recent and connected to the Galwan standoff.

ALSO READ: 20 Indian Soldiers Killed In India-China Clash In Galwan Valley

FactCheck

BOOM used Google's and Yandex's reverse image searches and using relevant keywords, found that this image predates the events that occurred at Galwan Valley.

This image has existed online since February 2019, when the incidents of Pulwama took place. The Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14, 2019, killed 40 personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force in a suicide attack.

This image was shared as unofficially as the remains of those who were martyred.

Many posts can be traced to late February 2019. The earliest posts, on February 16, 2019, can be traced to Reddit and to some accounts on Twitter.

BOOM could not ascertain the exact date or incident of the photo but results show that the image is from 2019, before the recent border tensions between India and China at Ladakh.