Photo: ap
Among the dead inthe scramble out of Afghanistanthis week is someone whose body was found Monday in the wheel well of U.S. military plane, the Air Force confirmed.
In a statementto various news outlets, the Air Force said Tuesday that the remains were discovered after the C-17 plane left Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, and landed at a base in Qatar.
The plane had arrived in Afghanistan with cargo but was unable to unload because “hundreds” of people had surrounded it, the Air Force said in its statement.
Pentagon officials previously said the airport was breached on the civilian side.
“Faced with a rapidly deteriorating security situation around the aircraft, the C-17 crew decided to depart the airfield as quickly as possible,” the Air Force said.
The Washington Postreported thatthe plane’s crew realized there was a problem when their landing gear wasn’t working after taking off.
According to thePost, the plane diverted after realizing the issue and, perPolitico, the remains were found hours after the plane left Kabul’s airport.
Air Force officials said in the statement that they were investigating “this tragic incident” and that “our hearts go out to the families of the deceased.”
The person was not identified further.
Their death is one of several that officials have confirmed in connection with the chaos that overtook Kabul’s airport after the Taliban swept into the capital over the weekend as the government collapsed and numerous people rushed to leave the country.
The evacuation at the end of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has drawn widespread criticism as too slow and too inept, and PresidentJoe Bidenon Monday admittedthere had been mistakesin how the exit unfolded.
But he said he remained certain an end to the 20-year Afghanistan war was best for the country.
On Tuesday, with Kabul’s airport secure, the Pentagon told reporters they hoped to be able to evacuate somewhere between 5,000 and 9,000 people per day.
source: people.com
