Photo shows a US Air Force cargo plane crammed with 640 Afghans trying to flee the Taliban
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Sinéad Baker
Aug 17, 2021, 15:27 IST
Evacuees crowd the interior of a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft on August 15, 2021.
Courtesy of Defense One/Handout via REUTERS
A photo shows 640 people crammed inside a USAF transport aircraft as they try to escape Kabul.
The jet didn't mean to take so many people, but some pulled themselves on, Defense One reported.
Audio circulating online seems to reveal an aviation official's reaction to the number of people.
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A striking image shows hundreds of people crammed inside a US Air Force cargo plane as they flee Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.
The photo was obtained by Defense One. A defense official told the outlet that about 640 people were inside the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.
See the full image here:
One defense official told Defense One that the aircraft did not mean to take so many people, but that some Afghans who had been cleared to evacuate pulled themselves onto the ramp while it was still half open, and the crew decided to take off anyway.
"That's believed to be among the most people ever flown in the C-17, a massive military cargo plane that has been operated by the US and its allies for nearly three decades," Defense One reported.
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The aircraft flew from Kabul to Qatar, the report said.
An audio recording circulating online, cited by Defense One, appeared to reveal an aviation official's reaction to the pilot's estimate of the number of people on board.
"OK, how many people do you think are on your jet? Eight hundred people on your jet? Holy … holy cow. Ok, well, you know, good job getting off the ground."
Insider was unable to confirm the authenticity of the recording, which is being widely shared by open-source air-traffic trackers.
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