Fact Check: Vande Bharat train collision in Lucknow? No, viral video is from Chile

Hyderabad: A video of a mangled train over another has been circulating on social media with the claim that it shows a Vande Bharat train accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow at 2 am on February 4.

An Instagram user shared the video making the same claim. (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The train accident in the video is from Chile.

A keyword search led us to a report by Amar Ujala, published on February 5, which stated that a Vande Bharat train travelling from Gorakhpur to Prayagraj Junction via Ayodhya and Lucknow collided with a bull in the morning. The report confirmed the bull’s fatality but mentioned no human casualties or collision with another train. Also, the viral video was not referenced in the report. Also, the design of the train involved in the accident doesn't look like a Vande Bharat train.

Upon conducting a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found the extended version of the video with the same visuals published by Associated Press on June 20, 2024, titled ‘Chile train collision kills at least 2 people, injures several others.’

According to the news agency, at least two people died and nine others were injured when a passenger train collided head-on with a test-run train just outside Santiago, the capital of Chile.

Here is a comparison of the visuals from both videos.

We also found an image featuring the same visuals in a report published by The Hindu on June 20, 2024, titled ‘Train collision in Chile kills at least 2 people and injures several others.’

The report stated that the accident occurred when a passenger train collided head-on with a test-run train just outside Santiago, Chile’s capital.

Therefore, we conclude that the video does not show a Vande Bharat train accident in Lucknow. The claim is false.