MI-171 aircraft crash that happened in Nigeria is falsely claimed as an Indian helicopter

Claim

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Explanation

In the above viral tweet shared on 15, August 2023 it is claimed that when India is celebrating independence day, our helicopter MI-171 got crashed in Nigeria. The tweet further, added details like, 26 soldiers have been killed and 8 people are injured. This was posted with a picture of a crashed aircraft in an area surrounded by trees along with hashtags like #IndianAirForce #MI171 #Nigeria.

https://twitter.com/vikascreateyug/status/1691339682972610560?s=46&t=kIszbQH_arRSG8kPbuGeZw

Dainik Bhaskar initially reported this as a piece of news. This same message has been shared by other users which can be seen here, here and here. Come, let’s see the truth behind this sensational tweet which is not reported by any other big news outlets till now other than Dainik Bhaskar.

What’s the truth?

When we started our research, we used the simple Google reverse image process and found that the same picture dates back to 2018 as per the report from “The Guardian” dated 29 September 2018. The headlines state, “Pilot dies as two NAF F-7NI aircraft collide in Abuja”. What caught our eye in this is the same image that is making rounds from yesterday claiming that an Indian Aircraft got crashed in Nigeria. This proves that the image is from 2018 and not from yesterday. Another interesting fact, which can be noticed easily is that the tail portion of the helicopter shows the flag colour of Nigeria and not India.

Moreover, we have got clarification from the PIB fact check as the circulated information is false. In the post, PIB also added that the helicopter crash doesn’t belong to India.

.@DainikBhaskar द्वारा एक पोस्ट में दावा किया जा रहा है कि भारतीय वायुसेना का MI-171 हेलीकॉप्टर नाइजीरिया में क्रैश हुआ जिसमें 26 सैनिकों की मौत और 8 सैनिक घायल हुए।#PIBFactCheck

✔️यह दावा फ़र्ज़ी है।

✔️ क्रैश होने वाला हेलीकॉप्टर @IAF_MCC का नहीं था। pic.twitter.com/OQANjaPqWb

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) August 15, 2023

Meanwhile, Dainik Bhaskar posted a clarification tweet that they regret for the mistake and further added that the information provided by them earlier is false.

However, the aircraft MI-171 crashed in Nigeria on 14 August 2023 and this information was posted on X by Parallel Facts. It also included details like, “Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed near Chubuka village in Niger State. The incident happened today, August 14, at about 1.00 pm”.

Nigerian Air Force Helicopter Crashes in Niger State

A Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed near Chubuka village in Niger State. The incident happened today, August 14, at about 1.00 pm.https://t.co/Sf0pwmALGN pic.twitter.com/rhOwLoi3xB

— Parallel Facts (@ParallelFacts) August 14, 2023

Above all, Premium Times a media organisation based in Abuja, Nigeria has also released an article regarding the same incident with the title, “Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter crashes”.

Thus, it’s perfectly clear that, the above claim of a helicopter crash in India on Independence Day is false.

Conclusion:

Therefore, YouTurn concludes with our investigation that the MI-171 helicopter crash incident does not belong to India rather it took place in Nigeria during an evacuation mission.

We kindly request the news agencies to check and re-check the facts and then publish the news, because it is always better to present the truth rather confusing the public with false or misleading claims.

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