A video of a tragic accident where a paraglider crashed into a power line in South Korea earlier this year is viral on social media with a false claim that it shows a Hamas militant getting killed while trying to cross over the fence from Gaza into Israeli held territory.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale assault on Israeli forces as a part of their 'Al-Aqsa Storm' operation. The Islamist militant group breached a fortified border fence, capturing both Israeli soldiers and civilians. The militant group rationalised these actions as a response to the desecration of the Al-Aqsa mosque and the threat posed by Israeli settlers in the region. The Islamic militant group had employed various mode of transport including motorcycles, pickup trucks, and speed boats, and paragliders to launch the ambush on Israeli troops according to the Associated Press.
In the 15 seconds video, a paraglider can be getting entangled into power line followed by a large bust of flames at the site. The video is being shared on X (formerly Twitter) by the Indian verified handle Nishant Taliyan (@ch_taliyan) with the caption, "Hamas paraglider crashes into high-voltage electric power line and bursts into flames. Did he deserve this... YES or NO? #Israel #IsraelPalestineWar #HamasMassacre #GazaUnderAttack"
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The same video is being shared on Facebook with the same false claim.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from South Korea of a paragliding mishap in June this year, and it predates the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7, 2023.
We found several replies to the viral video pointing out that the viral video is from South Korea and not from Gaza, Israel or even the middle east region.
The same viral video was posted in June 2023 on YouTube with the caption, "paraglider hit high-voltage transmission lines and caused fire."
Taking a hint from this video title and replies stating that the incident happened in South Korea, we ran a keyword search and found several South Korean news reports about the same incident from June 2023. The same electric line poll can be seen in the below report on the mishap when a man had got caught in a high voltage wire while paragliding near Seopjikoji on Jeju Island in South Korea.
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The same spot is visible in this Korean video news report by KBS News posted on June 21, 2023 on YouTube reporting on the accident below:
The JoongAng, a South Korean news outlet reported on the incident on June 16, 2023, quoting the Jeju Eastern Fire Department stating that on June 16, 2023, at around 4.35 pm it was reported that a man who was riding a powered paraglider near Seopjikoji Beach in Jeju died after getting caught up in a high-voltage wire and suffered an high-volatge electric shock.
