A video shared on Facebook purportedly shows the bodies of deceased COVID-19 victims washing ashore after some countries dumped them in the sea.

Verdict: False

The video shows the aftermath of a 2014 shipwreck off the coast of Libya. The Daily Caller News Foundation didn’t find any record of countries using mass sea burials for deceased coronavirus victims.

Fact Check:

The video shows bodies washing ashore on an unidentified coastline and includes text that reads: “Some countries throw Covid19 (sic) infected dead bodies into the seas. Advice to stop eating seafood. The world is really coming to an end. Dead God, please intervene.”

Through a reverse image search of key frames, the DCNF found the video posted on the YouTube channel of Euronews. The footage shows bodies of migrants that washed up on a Libyan beach in August 2014, according to its caption.

“Amid tragic scenes on a Libyan beach, bodies of would-be migrants have been washed ashore,” the caption partly reads. “More than 100 have been recovered by the Libyan authorities. They are thought to be from a shipwreck at sea last week.” (RELATED: Do These Photos Show The Bodies Of Pakistani Coronavirus Victims?)

Hundreds of thousands of African migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea in recent years, per the European Council on Foreign Relations. The boats that they use to cross sometimes sink, killing many of those on board.

The DCNF didn’t find any media reports about countries using mass burials at sea to dispose of “Covid19 (sic) infected dead bodies.” Iran and some other countries have dug mass graves for the burial of coronavirus victims, according to Business Insider.

This isn’t the first time images depicting the aftermath of a shipwreck have been misattributed amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In late March, Check Your Fact debunked a photo that Facebook users falsely claimed showed dozens of coffins containing Italians who had died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

As of press time, the new coronavirus has killed more than 285,000 people worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].