Pictured: 640 Afghans evacuated in US military plane

Evacuees crowd the interior of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft departing Kabul
via REUTERS

Pictures have shown more than 600 Afghans being evacuated in a US Air Force plane as Kabul airport reopens and evacuatios continue.

The C-17 Globemaster III plane safely evacuated 640 Afghans from Kabul late on Sunday, according to US defense officials.

According to Defense One, it is the most people ever flown in a C-17, a massive military cargo plane that has been operated by the US and its allies for nearly three decades.

It comes after at least seven people were killed in chaotic scenes at the airport in Kabul on Monday.

Hundreds of desperate Afghans could be seen on videos clinging to the side of a US plane at Kabul airport in an attempt to escape as the Taliban took over the capital.

Three stowaways fell from the engines of a US Air Force plane as it took off and others were run over by taxiing jets.

US troops fired into the air to scatter the crowds reportedly killing two civilians.

Thousands had rushed onto the tarmac of Kabul’s international airport.

Footage circulating on social media showed hundreds of people running across the runway as US troops fired warning shots in the air.

One showed a crowd pushing and shoving its way up a staircase, trying to board a plane while some people were hanging off the railings.

In another video, hundreds of people could be seen running alongside a C-17 transport aircraft as it moved down the tarmac.

A number clung to the side of the jet while another clip showed several falling through the air as the airplane rapidly gained altitude.

The Taliban’s lightning advance across Afghanistan took just over a week to dethrone the country’s Western-backed government.

Afghans cling to US plane at Kabul airport
AP

President Ashraf Ghani fled bringing to an end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform the nation.

The country’s Western-trained security forces collapsed ahead of the planned withdrawal of the last American troops at the end of the month.

The storming of the airport, seen from space by passing satellites, raised questions about how much longer aircraft would be able to safely take off and land.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in