ALBAWABA - Fake news emerged on May 27 that contact was lost with a plane carrying 210 Mauritanian pilgrims, both men and women.
Unreal information flooded social media that the plane, en route from Mauritania to Saudi Arabia ahead of the Hajj season, allegedly crashed off the Red Sea coast. However, the claims were denied by the airline company immediately.
Mauritania Airlines denied the allegations and confirmed that all Mauritanian pilgrims have arrived "safely and securely, thank God." It added that no accidents have been reported regarding the flights organized for the Hajj season.
The company has conducted three outbound flights, on May 23, 24, and 25, 2025, as part of the plan to transport Mauritanian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, Alwiam news agency reported on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Mauritania Airlines said return flights are scheduled for June 12, 13, and 14, 2025, according to the schedule approved in coordination with the relevant authorities.
It further called on the media to be accurate and avoid spreading fake news, stressing that it reserves the right to take legal action against those spreading rumors that threaten the safety and security of passengers and the airline's reputation.
Furthermore, MASDR news posted on X that the alleged news about the plane carrying Mauritanian pilgrims is baseless and fake. It wrote: "An official Mauritanian source said: The news circulating about a Mauritanian plane carrying pilgrims crashing off the coast of the Red Sea is incorrect, and the circulating video has no connection to the news."
A video, which some claimed earlier to be taken from the plane showing panicking passengers screaming mid-flight, with some people heard shouting "Allah Akbar" as the plane was reportedly falling from the sky, turned out to be a fake one.
