The United States Air Force (USAF) has confirmed that human remains were found in the wheel well of a C-17 aircraft that took off from Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday.
The USAF is now investigating an incident in which dozens of desperate Afghan civilians attempted to cling to a C-17 Globemaster III as it arrived at Hamid Karzai International Airport after delivering equipment to aid in the evacuation of Americans and allied personnel from the Afghan capital. Had taken off from the airport.
Footage captured on the side of the plane by another civilian shows how the man was crushed while raising the landing gear – his legs dangling sickly from the side of the plane.
“The plane was surrounded by hundreds of Afghan civilians who violated the airport perimeter,” the USAF said in a statement Tuesday evening.
‘Faced with a rapidly deteriorating security situation around the aircraft, the C-17 crew made the decision to depart the airfield as soon as possible. Human remains were found in the wheel well of a C-17 after landing at Qatar’s Al Udeed Air Base.
‘The aircraft is currently seized to provide time to collect the remains and inspect the aircraft before returning to flight condition.’
Eight people died amid chaotic scenes at the airport on Monday, with many civilians falling hundreds of feet down as they failed to stick to the plane. The evacuation was halted as American and Allied troops attempted to secure the perimeter of the airport, before resuming 90 minutes later.
Footage shows horrific sightings of the body of a man crushed into the landing gear of a US jet, with officials confirming that human remains were found after the plane’s emergency landing.
Men fleeing Taliban by clinging to the fuselage of a C-17 aircraft going to Kabul airport
The horrific scenes will likely become the defining image of the US and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, a debacle that has accused President Biden of ‘humiliating’ his country on the world stage and Western allies shamed Afghans to ‘leave’ who assisted him in his unsuccessful battle. Establish democracy in the country.
Order was restored on Tuesday after US troops secured the perimeter of the runway with barbed wire and brought in Apache helicopters to bring back civilians – rescue flights bound for Spain, France, India, the US and Britain with the people aboard.
At least 56,000 people need to be evacuated from Afghanistan, which includes using 22,000 US special immigration visas and 4,000 Britons – though right after taking into account staff from dozens of embassies in the capital. The number is likely to be much higher.
The Taliban announced a nationwide ‘pardon’ on Tuesday, urging people to return to their homes, saying government employees and women would be protected, and even joining the government will also be invited.
Meanwhile, Kabul’s international airport, which was the only way out for many, reopened for military evacuation flights under the watch of American troops.
Still, there were signs that the situation remained critical. The US embassy in Kabul, which is now operating from the airport, urged Americans to register online for evacuees, but did not arrive at the airport before being contacted.
The German Foreign Ministry said the first German military transport plane landed in Kabul, but took off with only seven people on board due to the continuing chaos. The second later left with 125 people.
As of late Tuesday, the Taliban entered the civilian half of the airport, firing in the air to evacuate about 500 people there, as they briefed journalists, an Afghan official said on condition of anonymity. was not authorized.
Chaos erupted at Kabul airport on Monday as thousands rushed to the runway to escape the Taliban regime, fearing bloody retaliation by Islamists
Thousands of Afghan civilians had boarded the runway at Kabul airport, before some Americans jumped on the side of the C-17 plane, which made an emergency landing in Qatar.
Three people were also seen falling from a jet as the landing gear retracted before falling onto the roofs of a house in Kabul.
Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, referred to the Taliban’s pledge of apology, but also voiced the fears of everyday Afghans who worry Islamists will not live up to their promise.
“Such promises will need to be respected, and for the time being – again frankly, given past history – these announcements have been greeted with some skepticism,” he said.
“In the last two decades there have been many difficult victories in human rights. The rights of all Afghans must be protected.
President Ashraf Ghani had earlier fled the country amid Taliban advances and his whereabouts are unknown.
Visuals at the airport calmed down after US troops secured the perimeter overnight, with hundreds of people standing behind barbed wire trying to exit Freedom Flights today
Afghan security guards try to maintain order as hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul
French security forces rescued diplomatic staff and their aides on Tuesday morning on an evacuation flight from Kabul airport to Abu Dhabi.
A Spanish Airbus plane takes off from Zaragoza airport bound for Kabul to help evacuate embassy staff on Tuesday
.