640 people flee from Kabul in 150-capacity flight
Some 640 people were crammed onto a C-17 jet that flew out of Kabul on Sunday that was four times its usual capacity by the US Air Force to extract stranded Americans and as many Afghans from the Taliban-captured Afghan capital.
The aircraft numbered RCH 871 took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport for the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, reports Daily Mail.
The US has so far flown at least two C-17 cargo jets out of Kabul and more flights are expected throughout Monday night and later this week despite chaos on the ground on Monday which involved eight people dying and flights being halted.
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Another C-17 - numbered RCH 885 - took off on Monday as hundreds of desperate Afghan nationals flooded the airfield in the hopes of being taken with it. Three people clung to the engines and fell to their deaths as the aircraft ascended.
Two others died after being shot by US forces, CBS News reported, and two are said to have been crushed beneath the wheels of a departing plane.
New audio from RCH 871 reveals the US Air Force pilot communicating with a controller who asked how many people were on board.
'Ok, how many people do you think are on your jet? 800 people on your jet?! Holy... Holy cow... Ok..' the controller said. Despite initial reports saying the jet was carrying 800, the true passenger number was later confirmed to be 640.
The jet can carry 171,000 pounds of cargo but its interior is designed to carry fewer than 150 soldiers. It's unclear who exactly was on board and how many Americans remain on the ground in Afghanistan.
