A morphed image of Indian Air Force's Chinook helicopter airlifting an excavator to conduct rescue operations in Uttarkashi's Dharali after the flash floods, is viral as real.
BOOM found two separate and unrelated photographs were edited and merged into one to make the viral claim. An old image of a Chinook helicopter was merged with a recent photograph of the flash flood that hit Dharali on August 5, 2025
Cloud burst in the upper catchment area of the Kheerganga river caused a flash flood that razed Dharali village to the ground. Five individuals have been confirmed as dead with several others still missing. IAF's Chinook and Mi-17V5 helicopters have been deployed along with JCB excavators to carry out rescue missions and debris removal in the affected areas.
The Claim
The image is viral on social media with users claiming, "After a cloudburst cut off Tharali, #Uttarakhand, the IAF airlifted an entire JCB by Chinook for rescue ops. This is New India – strong & unstoppable!"
Click here to see the post and here for an archive.
What We Found
1. Chinook transporting bulldozer: A reverse image search of the viral photograph led us to a similar image of the Chinook helicopter uploaded on the stock images website Getty Images on October 8, 2020. The description stated the photograph was clicked by Hindustan Times' Sanjeev Verma in Ghaziabad when the CH 47 Chinook helicopter showcased load carrying skills during the 88th Indian Air Force Day celebrations. The same image can be found on Rediff.com as well.
2. Flash flood hit Dharali: We then ran another reverse image search on Google lens focusing on the lower segment of the viral image which led us to multiple news reports carrying the same. Media outlets including Hindustan Times, India TV and CNBC TV18 also published the photograph crediting PTI. Published on August 6, 2025, the image is captioned by Hindustan Times as, "The flash flood, which struck around 1.50pm, sent a surge of boulders, debris, and mud barrelling through Dharali, a popular tourist village in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand, demolishing houses, shops, and hotels."
A comparison between the viral image and the two different photographs found in our search can be seen below.
3. Uttarkashi Police called the viral image fake: BOOM reached out to Devendra Singh Negi, Deputy SP of Uttarkashi district police for further clarification. Negi told BOOM, "The claim of Chinook transporting bulldozers to the disaster area is false. The viral image is fake."
The X handle of Akashvani News Uttarakhand also stated that the viral image is fake.
