Video of paraglider stuck in Manali viral with claims that Indian Air Force pilot Shivangi Singh caught in Pakistan
A video showing a person hanging from electric wires amid pine trees has gone viral with claims that it shows Indian Air Force pilot Shivangi Singh stuck while flying a Rafale fighter jet in Pakistan.
The clip is among a series of unverified visuals and claims that are doing the rounds on social media amid the India-Pakistan conflict. As of May 12, the ceasefire between the two countries remains in place. On May 7, a fortnight after terrorists killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam, India launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India described its strikes as counter-terrorist in nature, while Pakistan retaliated with shelling, calling the operation a breach of peace.
The video of the purported pilot caught in the wires was shared by X user @M_ismail_pak on May 10. At the time of this article being written, the post racked up over 550,000 views and was reshared 1,200 times. We have added a screenshot below since the account has been withheld in India. After the Kashmir terror attack, India banned several social media accounts from Pakistan and suspended several bilateral arrangements between the two countries. (Archive)
Another X user (@mqaiser_m) posted the video with the same claim. This has accumulated nearly 200,000 views. (Archive)
Other users, such as (@Sheikh1Sameer) and (@abdulmj_), based in Pakistan going by their bios, also shared the video with similar claims. (Archives: 1, 2)
Click to view slideshow.
Users also amplified the video on Facebook, alleging that IAF pilot Shivangi Singh had been captured in Pakistan. Screenshots below:
Click to view slideshow.
Fact Check
To verify claims regarding the viral video, Alt News ran a reverse image search on key frames from the concerned video and came across this Facebook post, uploaded by Samachar First, a news portal based in Himachal Pradesh, on March 16. It features the same video as the one that went viral.
कुल्लू: तूफ़ान में उड़ान, डोभी पैराग्लाइडिंग साइट में बिजली की तारों में लटक गया पैराग्लाइडर, सुरक्षित रेस्क्यू किया गया।
Posted by Samachar First on Sunday 16 March 2025
The Hindi caption, when translated, suggests that a paraglider had gotten stuck in electric wires at the Dobhi paragliding site in Kullu, while trying to fly during a storm.
Taking cue from this, we ran a relevant keyword search and were led to this news article by Dainik Bhaskar from March 16. It, too, said that a paraglider had gotten stuck in a forest after taking off from the Dobhi paragliding site during a storm in Manali.
While investigating, we also came across this Instagram video, uploaded by a travel company named The Wildcone on March 16. It shows the same accident from a different angle.
In conclusion, a video from March, which shows a paraglider stuck in electric wires in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, owing to adverse weather conditions, is being circulated with baseless claims that it shows IAF pilot Shivangi Singh caught in Pakistan. Additionally, the Press Information Bureau has rubbished claims that Shivangi Singh was captured.
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