False: Pakistan has sent oxygen tankers to India as part of the COVID-19 aid package.

By: Ankita Kulkarni
May 3 2021

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Oxygen express trains with tankers operated by the Indian Railways are falsely depicted as COVID-19 aid sent by Pakistan.India is suffering from an unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases as a new wave of infection has emerged. Many hospitals are running out of beds, medicines, and medical oxygen supply. Several countries have offered help to India, including Pakistan. Soon after Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, expressed solidarity with India, a video went viral on social media with captions stating that Pakistan has sent oxygen tanks to help India tackle the ongoing crisis. However, the viral video is that of the Indian railways operated oxygen express train carrying 7 empty tankers from Kalamboli goods yard in Navi Mumbai to Visakhapatnam for refilling liquid medical oxygen. The same video was posted by Indian Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal captioning it as “Railways is running its first Oxygen Express in its fight against COVID-19.” It was also published on youtube by Hindustan Times dated April 20, 2021. We mark the claim as False as the video of oxygen tankers has nothing to do with Pakistan. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.