In light of the recent conflict between Pakistan and India, a video has recently been circulated on various internet platforms under two different captions: “Breaking: Indian Navy aircraft carrier Vikrant has launched an a/t/t/a/c/k on Pakistan’s Karachi Port and completely destroyed it.” And “‘Operation Sindoor’ turning Pakistan Into Kabrastan.”
View the post shared on X under this claim here (archive).
View the posts shared on Facebook under this claim here (archive) and here (archive).
Fact Check
The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation found that the circulated video is not of Karachi Port in Pakistan or any other such location. Rather, an old video of a medical plane crash in Philadelphia, United States, has been used to make this claim.
In the course of the investigation, a video published on February 1st on a YouTube channel named Hakan Tuluhan was found here. The visuals in that video closely resemble the one being shared under the false claim.
According to the description of the video, a Mexico-registered Learjet 55 air ambulance crashed just after taking off from Philadelphia Executive Airport.
According to a report by media outlet Fox29, all six passengers aboard the plane died.
Another video with the same visuals and information was published on February 2nd on a YouTube channel named The Truth Lies, which can be found here.
Therefore, the circulated video has no connection to any India-Pakistan conflict.
Based on these sources, a report titled “7 Are Killed in Medical Plane Crash in Philadelphia” was published by The New York Times on January 31st, which can be read here.
According to the report, on that night, a small medical plane carrying six people crashed near a shopping center in Northeast Philadelphia. All passengers and one person on the ground were killed, and at least 19 people on the ground were injured. A massive fireball spread through the air, setting houses and vehicles on fire. The Learjet 55 was carrying a pediatric patient home to Mexico after treatment in Philadelphia. The patient’s mother was with the child, along with two pilots, one doctor, and one paramedic. All six aboard the aircraft were Mexican nationals.
Conclusion
An old video of a U.S. medical plane crash has been falsely circulated with the claim that it shows the aftermath of an Indian aircraft carrier attack on Pakistan’s Karachi Port. This claim is false.
