Amidst the 22 April 2025 terrorist attack that targeted tourists in the Baisaran Valley of Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, a video is going viral on social media (here, here, and here) showing a fire raging in a green field, with thick smoke rising into the sky. It is being shared with claims that the Pakistan Army shot down Rafale fighter jets in the Poonch sector along the Line of Control (LoC), while others claim it shows the Indian Air Force shooting down a Pakistani F-16 jet (here, here and here). Let’s verify the claims made in the post through this article.
Claim: The video shows Rafale fighter jets shot down by the Pakistan Army in the Poonch sector along the Line of Control (LoC).
Fact: The viral video does not show Rafale fighter jets shot down by the Pakistan Army in the Poonch sector along the Line of Control (LoC). It shows a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet that crashed in Shirasgaon, Nashik, Maharashtra, in June 2024, during a training sortie. Both pilots ejected safely. Additionally, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has clarified that the video is fake. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led to a Facebook post dated 4 June 2024, which featured the same video (archived). This confirms that the video is not related to the 22 April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam and had been online well before that. According to the post’s caption, the incident took place in Shirasgaon, Niphad taluka, Nashik, where an Air Force Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft crashed during a training sortie. Both the pilot and co-pilot ejected safely. The aircraft was undergoing overhaul by HAL, and an enquiry into the incident was ordered.
Taking clues from the social media post, we searched with relevant keywords and found a longer version of the same video shared by the X handle of Lokmat Times on 04 June 2024. The post stated that a Sukhoi fighter jet had crashed in a field in the Shirajgaon area of Niphad taluka, Nashik district, and that both pilots on board had safely ejected using parachutes.
We also came across multiple media reports covering this incident (here, here, and here). According to reports, the Sukhoi Su-30mki had taken off from HAL’s facility in Ozar, Maharashtra. It reportedly crashed due to a technical snag detected mid-air. While the pilots managed to eject safely, they sustained only minor injuries, and no loss of life was reported.
Additionally, we came across an X post by PIB Fact Check dated 29 April 2025, which clarified that several pro-Pakistan social media accounts were falsely claiming that Pakistan had shot down an Indian Rafale fighter jet along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch sector of Kashmir. The PIB Fact Check stated that the Pakistan Army had not shot down any Indian fighter jet. The video being shared shows a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet that crashed in Maharashtra in June 2024. Users were advised to exercise caution when sharing unverified claims circulating on social media platforms.
To sum up, a June 2024 video of a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet crash in Maharashtra is being shared with false claims following the April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack.
