ESCAPE FROM KABUL

Photo Shows 640 Afghans Jammed Into Overloaded U.S. Cargo Jet

The desperate flight from the Taliban pushed the military plane to its capacity.

A photo of the inside of a C-17 military cargo plane that flew out of Kabul late Sunday shows 640 Afghans crammed on the floor—one of the largest passenger loads that type of jet, which normally carries a maximum of 188 people, has ever handled. The picture was obtained by Defense One, which reports that the pilots did not intend to take off with so many people aboard. But Afghans who had been cleared for evacuation by the U.S. panicked as the Taliban entered Kabul and pulled themselves into the massive aircraft through a partially open ramp. “The crew made the decision to go,” one official told Defense One. Although the crew initially thought about 800 people might have been inside, officials said there turned out to be 640; other planes may have carried even more evacuees. Evacuations were temporarily halted on Monday amid the chaos but later resumed.