Old video from Moscow shared as electric vehicle collision

The viral video is from a gas cylinder explosion in Moscow and it dates back to 2013.

A video has gone viral on social media with a claim that it shows two electric vehicles colliding and causing a huge blast because of the batteries present in them. Caption states that “An incredible video, showing what can happen when two Electric Vehicles collide. Note that both sides of the freeway have been shut down and there are no fire apparatus present because, once a lithium battery ignites, it cannot be easily extinguished and the fumes are toxic”.

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Fact Check- 

Our investigation began with a reverse image search of key frames from the viral video, which led us to a Youtube video uploaded on 15 July, 2013 that contained similar visuals from the viral video. The title of the video is roughly translated from Russian as “Explosion of a Gazelle (isuzu) and gas cylinders on the Moscow Ring Road on 07/13/2013. 

We searched more with the keywords and found multiple reports of the incident. A report by RIA Novosti that mentioned 119 gas cylinders exploded in the back of an Isuzu truck on the Moscow Outer Ring Road, confirmed by the Metropolitan Police.The Isuzu truck collided with a bus. The driver of the truck was reported to be injured.

In further search, we discovered another YouTube video from the same incident on July 13, 2013. This video is a recording by surveillance camera of a car that travelled in the same road behind the truck that caused the accident. This video shows a truck carrying several gas cylinders that exploded after it collided with a passenger bus.

Moreover, none of the news stories mention that the truck or bus involved in the collision was electric. It’s worth noting that Isuzu did not have an all-electric truck model back in 2013, and electric buses were only introduced in Moscow in 2018.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be False. A 2013 video of gas cylinder explosion from Moscow is falsely shared as collision of two electric vehicles.