Crash Between Two Electric Vehicles? Here’s The Truth Behind Viral Video

Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.

ClaimTwo electric vehicles collide on the highway, causing a massive explosion.FactVideo dates back to 2013, when a truck carrying gas cylinders crashed into a bus on a Moscow highway.

Several social media users are circulating a video of what appears to be a major accident on a highway, claiming that the explosion happened when two electric vehicles (EVs) collided. “An incredible video, showing what can happen when two EVs collide. Note that both sides of the freeway have been shut down and there are no fire apparatus present because, once a lithium battery ignites, it cannot be easily extinguished and the fumes are toxic,” read a Whatsapp forward. We received this claim on our tipline (+91999949904), requesting it to be fact-checked.

The archived versions of the tweets can be seen here and here.

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A fire blazed on a cargo ship off the Dutch coast with nearly 3,000 vehicles on board last week, killing one member of the crew, according to a Reuters report. The coastguard said on its website the cause of the fire was unknown, but a coast guard spokesperson had earlier said it began near an electric car. Roughly 25 out of 2,857 vehicles on the ship were electric.

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Newschecker ran a keyword search for “EVs accident highway”, which did not throw up any relevant news report of any recent accident.

We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this tweet, dated April 11, 2023, featuring the viral video, stating that the massive flames are because the vehicle was carrying compressed gas cylinders.

Vehicle fire with compressed gas cylinders involved, please note this is NOT an electric vehicle as people are stating on various social media platforms. pic.twitter.com/bZJTmWDpbM

A user in the replies to the tweet shared a Youtube video of the incident, dated January 29, 2017, which stated that a truck full of gas cylinders exploded in the highway in Russia and that it happened in July 2013.

“A truck carrying gas cylinders caught fire after colliding with a bus on Moscow’s Ring Road. A total of 119 gas cylinders started exploding, resulting in a Michael Bay type of movie scene on the Russian highway. The truck driver suffered minor injuries, everyone else involved in the accident was fine.13-07-2013,” read the description. Similar videos can be seen here and here.

Screenshots of the viral video (left) and the Youtube video.

We also came across this news report, dated July 17, 2013, stating that the truck had run into a passenger bus. A similar news report can be seen here. A news report by a Russian media outlet, dated July 17, 2013, stated that 119 gas cylinders exploded in the back of an Isuzu truck that crashed into a bus on the Moscow Ring Road. None of these reports or video mention that an electric vehicle was involved, while confirming that the continuous blasts and huge balls of fire were caused by the gas cylinders exploding.

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An old video of an accident between a truck carrying gas cylinders and a bus on a Russian highway falsely claimed to show an explosion when two EVs collided.

SourcesYoutube video, January 29, 2017News report, July 17, 2013

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Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.

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