Footage of Crimea bridge explosion misrepresented as Baltimore bridge collapse
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The explosion shown in this footage is from 2022 and happened on Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea and Russia.
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After a cargo ship collided with a Maryland bridge, social media users shared footage of the incident, including one video that misleadingly shows a fiery explosion.
A March 26 Instagram reel sharing a TikTok video begins with a person pointing at a screen that shows real footage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsing into the Patapsco River in Baltimore.
The person in the video then claims “explosions” caused the bridge to collapse, saying, “They demolished the bridge, people. Wake the f— up. Distraction story again.”
The Instagram reel switches to different video footage that appears to show an alternate angle of the bridge collapse. In this clip, cars are seen driving across the bridge before an explosion happens and smoke and flames engulf the structure.
(Screengrab from Instagram)
A Facebook post also shared a video of this explosion, claiming it happened on the Baltimore bridge.
These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
This explosion footage is unrelated to the Baltimore bridge. A reverse-image search using Google Images showed the footage is from an October 2022 explosion on the Kerch bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea. CNN, The Guardian and other news outlets published this video when reporting on the 2022 incident.
The March 26 Baltimore bridge collapse was triggered when a 985-foot-long cargo ship plowed into one of the bridge’s supports at about 1:30 a.m., causing the rest of the bridge to collapse into the water. There have been no credible reports of an explosion at the time of the collapse.
Federal and Maryland officials said they do not think the container ship’s crash into the bridge’s support column was intentional.
“There is no specific or credible information to suggest there are ties to terrorism in this incident,” said William J. DelBagno, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office, during a March 26 press conference.
Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., shared the same sentiment earlier in the briefing.
President Joe Biden said during a different March 26 press conference that “we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there is any intentional act here.”
We rate the claim that video footage shows an explosion on the Baltimore bridge Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Instagram reel (archived), March 26, 2024
Facebook video, March 26, 2024
Reverse-image search using Google Images, March 27, 2024
CNN, "Surveillance footage captures large explosion on key bridge to Russian-annexed Crimea," Oct. 8, 2022
The Guardian, "Kerch bridge explosion: CCTV appears to show Crimea bridge blast," Oct. 8, 2022
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, "Blast Disables Traffic Over Bridge From Russia To Crimea," Oct. 8, 2022
YouTube, "WGAL-TV - Baltimore bridge collapse: Full news conference," March 26, 2024
YouTube, "The Associated Press - LIVE: Biden addresses Baltimore bridge collapse," March 26, 2024
The Associated Press, "What we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse," March 27, 2024
The Washington Post, "Ship call halted Baltimore bridge traffic, saving lives before collapse," March 26, 2024
Agence France-Presse, "Crimea explosion footage misrepresented as Baltimore incident," March 26, 2024
Reuters, "Fact Check: Video shows Crimea Bridge explosion, not Baltimore bridge collapse," March 26, 2024
