Fact Check: Crashed Russian plane debris found? Yes, but image shows Air India plane crash in 2010

Hyderabad: A Russian passenger plane carrying 49 people crashed near Tynda in the Amur region on July 24 during a second landing attempt amid poor visibility.

All on board are feared dead, with rescue efforts hampered by rugged terrain and bad weather. The Amur region lies in Russia’s Far East, bordering China along the Amur River.

Meanwhile, an image of plane debris in smoke surrounded by rescuers and other people has been circulating on social media, claiming it shows rescuers locating the burning debris of the Russian plane that crashed today.

Sharing the image, an X user wrote, “Russian plane carrying 50 people (44 passengers, 6 crew) crashes. Rescuers locate burning debris.” (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading, as the image shows the debris of an Air India plane that crashed in Mangalore in 2010.

A reverse image search led us to a similar photo published by Time and The Guardian on May 22, 2010.

According to Time, the image shows onlookers and firefighters at the crash site of an Air India Express passenger plane in Mangalore. The Guardian reported that the budget Boeing 737, operating as Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai, overshot the tabletop runway at Mangalore Airport during heavy pre-monsoon rain, crashing into a nearby jungle and bursting into flames. The crash claimed more than 150 lives, with 146 bodies recovered, while only eight passengers survived, primarily due to the difficult terrain and poor visibility.

We also found a similar image published by the stock website Shutterstock in May 2010.

The image is described, “Firefighters Try to Put out the Fire on the Smouldering Air India Plane That Crashed After Landing in Mangalore Southern India 22 May 2010 the Plane Overshot the Runway While Landing in the Southern Indian City of Mangalore and Burst Into Flames Killing As Many As 166 People in India's First Fatal Commercial Aircraft Crash in a Decade India Mangalore.”

Are there visuals of the Russian plane crash?

Foreign media outlets, including The Guardian and Sky News, published images and videos of the crash site showing smoke billowing from a dense forest. NDTV also shared the same footage. However, none of these visuals matches the viral image.