Locating a Venezuela-linked Oil Tanker Reportedly Pursued by American Maritime Authorities
Emma Pengelly
Image source
The distinctive yellow-colored apartment block in the background assisted us verify the video.
Our team is analyzing video footage and photographs circulated earlier today that purport to show the scene of a alleged vehicle-borne explosive blast that authorities in Russia say fatally injured a high-ranking military officer in Moscow.
Officials in Russia confirmed that Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was inside the vehicle that exploded and that he later died to his wounds. An investigation is under way.
Our starting point to check the site from which the pictures originated relied on posts indicating the blast occurred on Yasenevaya Ulitsa in the southern part of the Russian capital.
We used panoramic mapping services on Google Maps and the Russian search engine Yandex Maps to corroborate the unique yellow hue of a adjacent residential complex seen in the footage.
Identifying additional buildings, lamp-posts and the road configuration confirmed the exact location the footage were taken.
We also checked that the videos were recent and that the visuals had not been manipulated.