Video shows mining accident in China, not Türkiye

By: Emincan Yüksel
February 22 2024

Share Article:

Screenshot of a social media post falsely claiming to show footage from a mine collapse in Erzincan, Türkiye in February 2024.

Context

A post circulating on social media incorrectly claims to show footage of a mining accident in Erzincan, Türkiye, in February 2024. 

The post's caption reads, "Do you believe that this video really involves nine workers?" This post with the video received over 2.5 million views, 13,000 likes, and over 3,200 reposts. 

A screenshot of the claim circulating on social media. (Source: X/Screenshot)

On February 13, 2024, a landslide occurred in the leaching area of Çöpler Gold Mine in İliç district of Erzincan. After the accident, the Minister of the Interior of Türkiye announced that nine workers were trapped under the rubble after the accident.

However, the footage in the viral video shows a mine that collapsed in China in February 2023.

In fact

Using a reverse image search, we found that the footage is originally from a mine collapse in China's northern region of Inner Mongolia on February 22, 2023. A few hours after the collapse, a landslide occurred. A total of 53 people died in these accidents.

By comparing the footage of the two incidents, we can see there are no construction vehicles or pickup trucks in the landslide in Türkiye, which are visible in the video from the incident in China.

Comparison of footage from the Chinese coal mine collapse and the landslide at a gold mine in Türkiye. (Source: The Guardian/Screenshots)

Efforts were underway to rescue nine workers who were reportedly trapped under rubble in the accident in Erzincan, Türkiye.

The verdict

The video in the claim shows the coal mine collapse in China on February 22, 2023, not the mine collapse in Erzincan, Türkiye, in February 2024. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.