A dramatic video showing an armed vehicle erupting in a fiery explosion has gone viral on social media, claiming that it is the detonation of China’s long-range PL-15 missile involving Pakistani soldiers.
The video is shared on Facebook with a caption: చైనా లాంగ్ రేంజ్ మిస్సైల్ PL-15 జడ్జ్ కాల్పులు జరపడానికి ముందు దానంతట అదే పేలిపోయి పాకిస్తాన్ సైనికులను కూడా మట్టుబెట్టింది చైనాకు ధన్యవాదాలు (English version: Chinese long range missile PL-15 Judge explodes on its own before firing, killing Pakistani soldiers. Thanks to China.)
Here’s the link to the above post. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be MISLEADING.
Conducting a Reverse Image Search of the video keyframes to verify the origin of the footage, the NM team identified a Twitter post, dated July 4, 2024, describing the incident as the explosion of a Russian MT-LB armoured vehicle outfitted with an S-60 anti-aircraft gun.
Detonation of ammunition on a Russian MT-LB with installed S-60 anti-aircraft gun. pic.twitter.com/fa0DH4a6Gj
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 4, 2024
Searching further with relevant keywords, we found a news report from the Kyiv Post, dated July 5, 2024. The article cites a Ukrainian military blogger known as Operational ZSU, who had originally shared the video. According to the report, the clip captures a dramatic explosion involving a Soviet-era AZP S-60 anti-aircraft gun mounted on a Russian MT-LB vehicle in an undisclosed area of Ukraine. The footage does not involve Chinese weaponry or Pakistani personnel, nor it is connected to the recent India-Pakistan conflict.
Thus, it is confirmed that the viral video of the military vehicle explosion is not linked with any Chinese PL-15 missile or Pakistani soldiers.
