Fact-Check: 2020 Video of Plane Crash in Pakistan Falsely Viral as Recent Clip

This video is from 2020 and shows a plane crash in Pakistan's Karachi.

Fact-Check: This video is from 2020 and is not recent, as claimed. 

(Photo: X/Altered by The Quint) 

A video showing a huge crowd looking at billowing smoke being emitted behind buildings is being shared on social media platforms.

• Those sharing have claimed that it shows a passenger plane shot down by Pakistan's air force near Karachi. It also noted that the plane, which had almost 100 people onboard, hit a residential area.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• The video dates back to 2020 and shows a passenger plane that crashed near Karachi.

What we found: At first, we divided the video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We came across a news report by the The Independent from 22 May 2020 which carried a similar frame.

Here is the visual on The Independent's news report.

(Source: The Independent) 

• The report noted that a fire an flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was on routine domestic service from Lahore to Karachi when it crashed on its way to Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, killing several people.

• Pakistan's then Prime Minister Imran Khan promised an immediate investigation into the crash, it added.

• We also found a report by The Dawn from 2020 which also carried a similar frame. It stated that 97 passengers died while only two of the people on board survived.

• The pilot had communicated a technical difficulty to the air traffic control moments before the crash.

• Similarly, the Times of India and the BBC also covered this incident in May 2020.

• We did not find any recent reports about a plane crash or a plane being shot down in Pakistan after the terror attack in Pahalgam on 22 April.

Conclusion: This clip showing massive smoke being emitted is five years old and is not a recent video of a plane crash in Pakistan.

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