The viral video does not show the collapse of Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 28, 2024
A video (here, here and here) is currently making rounds on social media platforms, allegedly showing the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore from a different camera angle. The claim associated with this video is generating significant attention among netizens. In this fact-check article, we check the veracity of this claim.
Claim: Video showing the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore from a different angle.
Fact: Contrary to the claim, the video is unrelated to the alleged incident. It is old footage from 2022, showcasing the Kerch Bridge explosion in Crimea, not the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To fact-check this claim, we performed a reverse image search using keyframes from the footage. The search results led us to multiple news reports (here, here and here) from October 2022.
The reports identified the explosion shown in the video as the Kerch Bridge explosion in Crimea. According to these reports, the blast, caused by a truck bomb, resulted in at least three fatalities.
Furthermore, we examined the news reports related to the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed on 26 March 2024 following a collision with a ship.
However, contrary to the viral posts, our research found no reports suggesting an explosion had occurred on the bridge. Although a fire broke out (here and here) following the collision, footage shows no evidence of a massive explosion, as depicted in the viral video.
To sum up, the viral video, alleged to depict the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, actually shows the Kerch Bridge explosion in Crimea from 2022.