Times Now, Mirror Now, Economic Times report 2021 video from Andhra Pradesh shared as rescue operation in Telangana.

The video dates back to 2021 when the IAF had rescued people stuck in the rising water of the Chitravati River in Ananthapur district, Andhra Pradesh.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an advisory on flash flood risk in Telangana on 10 July. Following which, heavy rainfall warning, the police advised people to avoid non-essential travel.

Amidst this, a video showing a helicopter-rescuing people stuck on a JCB in the middle of the flooded water is widely circulating on social media. This video has been shared by major media houses such as Mirror Now, India Today, Economic Times, Times Now, TV9 Kannada, etc. They claim that this video shows a recent visual of the rescue operation carried out in Mancherial district in Telangana.

According to Mirror Now’s report, helicopters were deployed to rescue men who were stuck in the heavy flow of the Godavari River due to flash floods in Telangana.

Fact Check-

We started our investigation by running a keyword search on YouTube whose results led us to the same video published on 20 November 2021. The caption of this video state, “Kadapa Annamaya project collapsed, rescue by helicopter, paramilitary reached. This affected 12 village.”

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Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search on Google whose results led us to a news report published by NDTV, Hindustan Times, Kalinga TV on 19 November 2021. According to the report, the Indian Air Force conducted a daring rescue operation to save the lives of ten people who were stranded after heavy rainfall in Andhra Pradesh.

A twitter post by the Indian Air Force shows the rescue operation. The caption reads, “Today, IAF Mi-17 helicopter evacuated ten people stuck in the rising waters of Chitravati River in Ananthapur district, Andhra Pradesh, in difficult weather conditions.”

At least 12 people were killed and 18 others went missing after three buses of Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) were stuck in floods triggered by heavy rains in Kadapa district on Friday.

Rescue workers pulled out 12 bodies and were searching for the missing people in Rajampet area.

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You can see a comparison image between the viral video and the video available on YouTube. This shows that both the video are from the same incid ent that took place in 2021.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be False. The viral video does not show helicopter-rescuing people stuck on a JCB in the middle of the flooded water in Telangana. The video dates back to 2021 when the IAF had rescued people stuck in the floods on Chitravati River in Ananthapur district, Andhra Pradesh.