Footage of people escaping burning building falsely linked to India plane crash

Published on June 14, 2025 at 10:06
3 min read
By Akshita KUMARI, AFP India

After a London-bound passenger jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood of India's Ahmedabad city, social media users have shared a video falsely claiming it shows a man jumping off the plane. But the video actually shows a fire in Delhi on June 10, 2025.

"A video of a man jumping from a plane during yesterday's plane crash has surfaced. Watch this video carefully, you will get goosebumps. Another video of the Ahmedabad plane crash is going viral rapidly," reads a Hindi-language Facebook post on June 13, 2025.

The post includes a video that shows people falling off a burning building.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London with 242 people crashed between a hospital and a neighbourhood in Ghoda Camp, a residential area in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025 (archived link).

The crash has killed at least 265 people, including 24 on the ground, with the possibility of a higher toll as more remains are found.

One man aboard the Air India flight -- carrying 242 passengers and crew -- miraculously survived the fiery crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital (archived link).

Screenshot of the false post, taken on June 13, 2025

The video was shared alongside similar claims on Facebook, X, Instagram and Threads.

However, the video is unrelated to the Ahmedabad plane crash.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the false video found similar footage published on X by the Indian news website Hindustan Times on June 10, 2025 (archived link).

The caption of the post said, "A major fire broke out on the top floor of the Shabad Apartment complex in Dwarka Sector 13, triggering panic among residents."

Another report from the outlet said the fire killed a man and his two children (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and the X video published by Hindustan Times

English-language daily The Statesman also published a video of the incident on X from a different angle, and went on to say the fire broke out in a residential building named Shabad Apartment (archived link).

Google Maps' Street View imagery matched the building seen in the false posts (archived link).

Screenshot of the false video (L) and Google Street View imagery of the area

AFP has debunked another false claim related to the deadly Air India accident here.

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