DRAMATIC DELIVERY

Afghan Woman Gives Birth Aboard U.S. Air Force C-17 Evacuation Flight

She delivered a healthy baby girl just moments after the American military jet touched down at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

In a rare bright spot in the week since the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan, the U.S. Air Mobility Command confirmed that an Afghan woman delivered a baby girl after going into labor onboard a packed evacuation flight on Saturday.

After the woman went into labor before landing at the U.S. airbase in Ramstein, Germany, where scores of evacuees are being taken, the pilot made a potentially lifesaving maneuver to save the woman’s life.

“The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mother's life,” the U.S. Air Mobility Command wrote in a tweet. Once the C-17 transport jet, which is built for cargo, landed in Germany, the U.S. Air Force’s 86th Medical Group helped deliver the baby in the cargo bay.

The U.S. military has shifted its main holding area for Afghan evacuees from Qatar to the German base due to overcrowding.