On 12 June 2025, Air India Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad. The aircraft lost altitude within minutes and went down in the Meghani Nagar area near the airport, erupting in flames (here, here). It crashed into the hostel building of B.J. Medical College and Civil Hospital, which was reportedly housing medical students at the time. Over 240 people were on board, including nationals of India, the UK, Portugal, and Canada (here). Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national of Indian origin, is the sole surviving passenger of Flight AI 171 (here, here).
In this context, a video (here, here, here, and here), which appears to have been filmed outside an airport, is being widely shared across social media platforms in connection with the recent Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. In the video, a little girl can be seen screaming and clinging to a man’s chest, pleading with him not to leave her and go, while the man attempts to hand her over to another individual. These posts claim that the girl was trying to stop her father from leaving for London at Ahmedabad airport, but he departed—never to return. Through this article, let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: A video of a young girl refusing to let her father leave her, as he was about to board the plane that crashed on 12 June 2025 at Ahmedabad International Airport.
Fact: This video has no connection to the recent crash of Air India Flight AI 171, which occurred on 12 June 2025 in Ahmedabad, nor is it related to India. This video was actually recorded at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 11 March 2025. The man seen in the viral video is Shahadat Hossain, a Bangladeshi citizen who is currently residing in Oman. Speaking to Factly, Shahadat Hossain confirmed that the individuals in the video are himself and his daughter, Mahnur Hossain Fatiha, and that he is safe. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to an extended version of the same clip, which had been uploaded (archived) to the TikTok handle ‘@sunzidahossain0’ on 11 March 2025.
Upon examining the TikTok account, we found several other videos featuring the same individuals seen in the viral footage. The account also included a link to a Facebook profile belonging to the same user. When we visited the linked Facebook account, we found that the extended version of the viral video had also been posted there on 18 March 2025.
We then contacted the Facebook user using the phone number provided in the bio. Speaking to Factly, the user identified himself as Shahadat Hossain, a Bangladeshi citizen currently residing in Oman. Shahadat confirmed that the individuals in the video are he and his daughter, Mahnur Hossain Fatiha. He stated that he is completely safe and has no connection with the Ahmedabad plane crash. Shahadat further explained that the video was recorded in March 2025 at Dhaka Airport, while he was travelling to Oman. The other person seen in the video is his father-in-law. At our request, Shahadat also shared a clarification video in which he addresses the viral footage. A comparison between his clarification video and the viral clip clearly confirms that the man featured in the viral footage is indeed Shahadat Hossain.
Furthermore, a comparison between the viral video and Google Street View imagery of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, confirms that the video was indeed filmed there, not at Ahmedabad International Airport, as claimed.
To sum it up, this video is unrelated to the 12 June 2025 Air India Flight AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad. The man seen in the viral video is Shahadat Hossain, a Bangladeshi citizen currently residing in Oman, and he is safe.
