Yasir Shah did not die in the Pakistan International Airlines plane crash in May 2020

This article is more than one year old.
Published on July 1, 2020 at 03:30
2 min read
By AFP Pakistan

Multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter claim that Pakistani cricketer Yasir Shah died in a plane crash in Karachi in May 2020. The claim is false; a search of the passenger list for the Pakistan International Airlines plane that crashed in Karachi on May 22, 2020 did not find Shah's name; as of June 2020, posts on Shah's official social media accounts indicated he was alive; the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on June 12, 2020 that Shah would participate in the team’s England tour.

The claim was published on Facebook here on May 22, 2020. The post includes a photo of Shah and a photo of what appears to be a deceased man.

The post’s caption reads: “Heart Breaking News:
“Pakistani Test Cricketer Yasir Shah Died in Plane Crush Karachi..
“According to BCC news Yasir shah was in the plane when this incident was happend?
“May Almighty Allah give him heighest rank in jannah (heaven)”.

A screenshot taken on June 29, 2020, of the misleading Facebook post by Facebook user 24×7 kasheer news

The post circulated after a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crashed in a residential area in Karachi on May 22, 2020. Almost 100 people were killed in the crash, as AFP reported.

The claim was also published alongside the two photos on Facebook here, here and here and on Twitter here, here and here.

The claim is false.

Shah was not onboard the downed PIA plane, according to the airline’s official passenger list.

Following the crash in May, Shah also tweeted that he was alive and safe at his home. The tweet has since been deleted but was cached in this Facebook post.

A screenshot taken on June 29, 2020, of cricket player Yashir Shah’s tweet

Shah has continued to be active on Twitter following the May 22 crash, posting an Eid Mubarak message here on May 24 and a photo of himself here ahead of a cricket tour in England on June 24.

A tweet on Shah's official Twitter account on May 24, 2020

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on June 12, 2020 that Shah would participate in the team’s England tour. The full player list can be seen here.

A screenshot taken on June 29, 2020, of Pakistan Cricket Board website showing Pakistani squad for the England tour includes spin bowler Yasir Shah (name marked in red circle by AFP)

AFP could not locate the origin of the purported photo of a deceased man shared alongside an image of Shah in the misleading posts.

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