A military cargo plane leaving Kabul’s international airport late Sunday packed 640 Afghans inside amid unfolding chaos in the country as the Taliban continues to take over.
The C-17 aircraft belonged to the 436th Air Wing, based at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Defense One reported.
The plane was not intended to take such a large load but the hundreds of Afghans pulled themselves onto its open ramp, a defense official told the outlet.
“Approximately 640 Afghan civilians disembarked the aircraft when it arrived at its destination,” the official said.
The crew made the decision to take off instead of trying to force the Afghans off.