Photo shows 640 Afghans packed in US C-17 Jet

An inside photo of a C-17 military cargo plane that took off from Kabul on Sunday evening shows 640 Afghans crammed on the ground, one of the biggest passengers than this type of plane, which normally carries a maximum of 188 people, never handled. The photo was obtained by Defense One, which reports that the pilots did not intend to take off with so many people on board. But the Afghans who had been cleared to be evacuated by the United States panicked when the Taliban entered Kabul and climbed onto the massive plane through a partially open ramp. “The crew made the decision to leave,” an official told Defense One. Although the crew initially thought around 800 people may have been inside, officials said it turned out there were 640; other planes may have carried even more evacuees. Evacuations were temporarily halted on Monday amid the chaos, but resumed later.