- Video shows a USAF plane being swamped by people as it moved on the tarmac at Kabul airport.
- Afghans have been desperately trying to flee the country after it fell to the Taliban.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Footage shows the moment a US Air Force plane was swamped by hordes of people as it appeared to taking off from Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.
The video, which started going viral on Twitter Monday morning, shows dozens of what appeared to be Afghan civilians running alongside the plane as it made its way down a runway. It was not clear when exactly the video was recorded.
The clip shows many people trying to grab ahold of the plane as it appeared to be taking off.
-Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 16, 2021
Other videos posted to social media on Monday showed what appeared to be bodies falling off military planes just seconds after take off.
Kabul’s airport became a scene of chaos on Sunday as the city became the last Afghan military stronghold to fall to the Taliban.
Thousands of Afghans showed up at the airport, trying to get on flights out of the country. But those hopes were dashed on Monday, with the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority announcing that all commercial flights had been grounded.
According to the BBC, the airport has been divided between a commercial side and a military side. The US has control of the military side and is using it to evacuate its staff.
In another video posted Monday, gunfire was heard as Afghans gathered on the tarmac were seen scrambling. According to Reuters, five people have died in the chaos at the airport, though it’s unclear in what circumstances.
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