Video of non-fatal helicopter accident at Brazil wedding reshared in misleading Sri Lankan posts
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on March 28, 2023 at 03:58
- Updated on March 28, 2023 at 11:05
- 3 min read
- By AFP Sri Lanka
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The two-minute, two-second video was shared in this Facebook post published on March 10, 2023.
The post's Sinhala-language caption translates to English as: "Take a look at this video that shows foolish newlyweds who tried to show off their wealth and arrogance in front of their relatives and ended up paying for it with their lives.
"The parents lost their children in front of their eyes.
"This is why the most important day of your life should be celebrated simply without unnecessary gimmicks. Such a stupid world we live in."
An identical video and caption was shared on WhatsApp and on Facebook here and here.
Comments by some users indicated they were misled to believe the video was filmed in Sri Lanka.
One user wrote, "Weddings have become such a circus here. I feel so bad for the couple but it's true; the day is for you, not for your relatives."
Another commenter wrote, "Who says there is an economic crisis here? Look at these newlyweds using a helicopter to enter the reception venue, that is how rich we are."
The video, however, does not show a scene from a Sri Lankan wedding and the accident did not result in any fatalities.
Brazil accident
A reverse image search of the video's keyframes found this YouTube video published on May 11, 2018.
It is titled, "Helicopter crash in Vineyard".
According to the clip's description, the crash occurred on May 5, 2018 in Vinhedo in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
"I was working at the wedding and the helicopter crashed," reads part of the description.
The footage is identical to the clip featured in the misleading posts.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in the false Facebook post (left) and the YouTube clip (right):
The crash was reported here by the Brazilian news website G1 on May 5, 2018.
Its Portuguese-language headline translates as, "Helicopter carrying bride crashes and three are injured in Vinhedo; VIDEO".
It features a video that contains similar footage -- from its 30-second to 40-second mark -- to scenes shown in the clip that has circulated on social media.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the clip shared in the false Facebook post (left) and the clip used on the G1 website (right), with similarities highlighted in yellow by AFP:
According to G1, nobody was seriously injured in the crash.
The report reads, "A helicopter carrying a bride to the wedding party crashed late this Saturday afternoon (5), in Vinhedo (SP), in the Altos do Morumbi region. According to the Fire Department, three people suffered minor injuries and the woman was unharmed."
The Sao Paulo Fire Department also tweeted about the accident, saying the bride escaped unscathed, while the pilot suffered minor injuries.
Tivemos uma ocorrência de queda de helicóptero seguido de incêndio pela R Viena, 300 – Vista Alegre / Vinhedo, 4 vtrs do 7º e 19º Grupamento de Bombeiros atenderam. Fogo extinto pelo CB, pelo local estavam tripulando: uma noiva ( sem ferimentos ), piloto com escoriações, pic.twitter.com/rA7mSUpr5w
— Corpo de Bombeiros PMESP (@BombeirosPMESP) May 5, 2018
March 28, 2023 This story was updated to fix a spelling mistake in the summary.
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