Old video from Kerala's Idukki shared as rescue operations after Wayanad landslides

What is the claim?

(Trigger warning: The following article contains distressing visuals; reader discretion is advised.)

On July 30, 2024, a series of massive landslides struck Kerala’s Wayanad district, resulting in over 300 deaths and numerous injuries. Rescue operations are ongoing to locate missing individuals. In the aftermath, a video purportedly showing a person being rescued from the soil has circulated on social media, with claims that it is from Wayanad.

A post on X (formerly Twitter) shared the video with the caption, “It must be hell for many people & their families to go through this. Praying for Wayanad & all the victims.” At the time of writing, this post has garnered 35,800 views.

The video is also being shared on Facebook with similar claims. Archived versions can be viewed here, here, and here. 

Screenshots of viral posts circulating on social media. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the viral video predates the Wayanad landslides and actually shows an incident from Kerala’s Idukki district.

What did we find?

The video displays a date on the right side: “June 11, 2024,” indicating that it is not recent. Additionally, the video features the logo of “Kairali News,” a Malayalam TV channel. Following this clue, we found the original video on Kairali News’ official YouTube channel (archived here). The video, posted on June 11, describes an accident involving workers trapped under soil during the construction of the National Highway in Adimali.

Screenshot of the video uploaded by Kairali News. (Source: YouTube/Screenshot)

A Google search led to a report by The Hindu on June 11, 2024. The report detailed that two workers, identified as Jose and Kaliswami from Thenkasi town in Tamil Nadu, were trapped when an embankment collapsed during drainage and protection wall construction for the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway. The workers sustained minor injuries and were treated at a taluk hospital in Adimaly, Kerala.

A local journalist from Janmabhumi, a Malayalam-language daily newspaper, also posted the same video (archived here), corroborating the details reported by The Hindu.

The verdict

A video of a man being rescued in Kerala's Idukki district in June 2024 is being shared with misleading claims that it depicts rescue operations from the recent landslides in Wayanad.