US military plane sets record by evacuating 823 people from Afghanistan

A US military cargo plane has set a record safely transporting 823 Afghan nationals, nearly 200 more than originally planned, from Kabul airport after the Taliban took control of the city. , confirmed this Friday the Air Force of the North American country.

Amid the chaos and desperation of crowds of civilians to escape Afghanistan, a photograph of a C-17 Globemaster plane with hundreds of people crammed inside went around the world earlier this week.

The US military initially reported that there were 640 passengers on board when it left Afghanistan on August 15. However, this Friday the Air Mobility Command (AMC) issued the correction explaining that the figure did not include more than 180 children They were riding on their parents’ laps, many of whom can be seen in the picture.

“It is a record for this plane”They stressed, ensuring that they managed to evacuate “safely” 823 Afghan citizens from the Hamid Karzai International Airport. This type of aircraft is normally used to carry a little over 100 soldiers and military equipment.

The C-17 did not intend to take on such a heavy load, but the frightened Afghans who had been allowed to evacuate climbed onto the plane’s semi-open ramp, and instead of ejecting them, “the crew made the decision to continue.” confessed an official to the Defense One portal.

“Have women, children and people’s lives at stake, it’s not about capacity or rules and regulations, it’s about the training and directives that we were able to handle to make sure we could get so many people out safely and effectively. ” reiterated for his part, Lieutenant Colonel Eric Kut, commander of the flight’s mission.

• Last Sunday, the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital and ended their offensive across Afghanistan. Their arrival in Kabul caused many people to rush out of the country, resulting in traffic jams and stampedes at the air terminal.
• It was previously reported that at least seven people died amid the chaos that was unleashed when crowds of people crowded into the capital airport to try to flee the country.
• In the midst of panic, thousands of desperate people tried ‘assault’ aircraft, while three men clung to the wheels of a plane that was taking off and would have fallen into the void shortly after, in mid-flight.

* The Taliban movement, designated as a “terrorist organization” by the UN Security Council, is declared a terrorist group and prohibited in Russia.