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A photo obtained by DefenseOne.com shows an estimated amount of 640 Afghans packed into a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III plane to evacuate from Taliban rule.
U.S. defense officials confirmed the total to Defense One, which the website reported was "believed to be among the most people ever flown in the C-17," a military cargo plane operated by the U.S. and allied nations for nearly three decades.
Flight tracking software used by Defense One showed the plane belongs to the 436th Air Wing of the U.S. Air Force, based at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The plane is not intended to carry such a large load, but the panicked Afghans cleared to evacuate pulled themselves onto the plane's half ramp and, instead of trying to force them off the aircraft, "the crew made the decision to go," a U.S. defense official confirmed to Defense One.
“Approximately 640 Afghan civilians disembarked the aircraft when it arrived at its destination,” the defense official said.
News of the flight reached the United States after audio from the crew estimating 800 passengers were present on the flight was shared online.
A defense official speaking anonymously confirmed the actual total was about 640.
On Monday (August 16), U.S. officials confirmed "at least seven people" died during an incident in which Afghan civilians held onto an American military jet as it took off from Kabul's international airport, the Associated Press reported.
Senior military officials spoke to the AP anonymously amid the ongoing operation and confirmed the casualties, which included several individuals who fell from the plane as it was airborne.
Dozens of Afghan civilians desperate to escape their country amid the Taliban's takeover were seen clinging to a U.S. military plane as it took off from Kabul's airport.
CBS News reports at least one person was seen falling off the plane "from a significant height" as it ascended off the runway at Hamid Karzai International Airport in the now viral video.
Hundreds of individuals swarmed onto the tarmac of the airport on Monday and a large crowd ran along the U.S. C-130 transport plane, with some clinging to its wheels and any parts within grabbing reach as the plan quickly moved down the runway.
Dozens were spotted attempting to climb onto a civilian aircraft full of foreign nationals earlier in the day as it took off from the runway.
The distress among Afghan civilians comes after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan's capital city, Kabal, effectively forcing the entire country and its government to be under the group's rule.
The presidential palace is also now under Taliban control after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, prohibiting any potential attempts to form a transitional government.
The Taliban take over comes after the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan, nearly 20 years after American troops drove the group out of power and continued to have a presence in the country until recent evacuation.
CNN reports the U.S. defense secretary approved 1,000 more American troops to move into Afghanistan amid the ongoing situation, bringing the total number of arriving troops to 6,000.