The airport has become flooded with scared and desperate Afghans
Scenes from Kabul’s airport have been circulating on social media, with the most notable being a video depicting desperate Afghans attempting to stop a plane from taking off without them. One video, in particular, seems to show three people falling from the plane just after takeoff.
Crowds of people desperate to escape Afghanistan stormed Kabul’s international airport, rushing onto the tarmac.
People clung to the sides of military planes, even as one taxied down the runway, in a bid to flee as the Taliban takes control.https://t.co/BMfaEkDykr pic.twitter.com/WkX0JQx3io
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 16, 2021
A plane belonging to the US air force is seen to be starting its takeoff as an enormous crowd rally around its undercarriage. Despite the inherent danger, these desperate people are attempting to flee Kabul after a successful coup from the increasingly powerful Taliban.
In a separate video, the plane is seen to be flying some height above the capital. It appears as if, one by one, three people fall to their deaths. Onlookers point to the sky, and then the bodies of two men and a woman are recorded on the ground.
Kabul’s airport has become a focal point for evacuation efforts, with the US, UK and other allied nations doing their best to extract government officials. But due to the Taliban locking down the land borders, terrified citizens are fleeing to the only place they know to be free of Taliban control.
Despite all commercial flights having been cancelled, and Foreign embassies warning people to only go to the airport if requested, the Afghan people are still crowding the airport, whether that be via official entrances or over the walls.
The sheer helplessness at Kabul airport. It’s heartbreaking! #KabulHasFallen pic.twitter.com/brA3WRdPp8
— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) August 16, 2021
The US embassy in Kabul said the situation in the city was unpredictable. “The security situation in Kabul is changing quickly, including at the airport,” it said. “There are reports of the airport taking fire; therefore we are instructing US citizens to shelter in place.”
Related links:
- At least five dead amid Kabul airport chaos as Taliban takes capital
- Taliban enter outskirts of Kabul in move to retake whole of Afghanistan
- Last remaining British troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan
