A shocking video shows desperate afghans who clung to USAF C-17 Globemaster falling from the sky that has gone viral on social media.
The people are trying to leave Kabul, and Afghanistan, after the insurgent group Taliban took control of the country, just weeks after launching an offensive in the wake of the withdrawal of US and Nato forces.
The video showed that Afghans believed to be clinging to the landing gear of the C-17 transport plane, falling due to the huge G-force exerted during take-off.
Three Kabul residents who were trying to leave the country by hiding next to the tire or wing of an American plane, fell on the rooftop of local people. They lost their lives due to the terrible conditions in Kabul. pic.twitter.com/Cj7xXE4vbx
— Sayed Tariq Majidi (@TariqMajidi) August 16, 2021
“Locals near Kabul airport claim that three young men who were holding themselves tightly onto the tires of an airplane fell on top of people’s houses. One of the locals confirmed this and said that the fall of these people made a loud and terrifying noise,” tweeted local news agency Asvaka.
Here in this video you see some of the Afghan youth hanging on the American airplane’s engines before take off in the Kabul airport https://t.co/msb8UbZO9D
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) August 16, 2021
The people have gathered at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul to seek an evacuation flight amid the Taliban’s takeover of the country. Five people were killed on Monday following gunfire at the passenger terminal of the airport.
Insane. Don’t have any other words.
The Kabul Airport.
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) August 16, 2021
Any security perimeter or containment measures aimed at keeping U.S. aircraft and personnel safe at Kabul International appear to have failed.
Video coming out of Kabul via Sowaibah Henifie shows huge crowds of Afghans swarming a C-17 that is taxiing while an Apache gunship flying just feet above the ground tries to push them away from the moving airlifter. These are clearly desperate measures.
It is chaos at Kabul airport. Planes are taking off and landing and people are running across the runway. pic.twitter.com/kKrg667AQB
— Sowaibah Hanifie (@SowaibahH) August 16, 2021
The airspace above Afghanistan has been closed, with the country’s aviation authority issuing two NOTAMs or notices to airmen. United Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic had already stopped using Afghanistan airspace on Sunday.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday, completing the takeover of the country two decades after they were ousted by the US forces.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to the offensive which began just weeks ago. The country’s Western-trained security forces collapsed or fled in the face of the Taliban offensive.
