The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) revealed today, Friday, that the military transport plane that took off on Sunday from Kabul and was famous for a picture of hundreds of Afghans crowded inside it, carried an unprecedented number of 823 passengers.
The initial estimate was that there were 640 Afghans who were transported in minibuses above the runway, but it did not take into account the 183 children, most of whom were sitting in the arms of their parents, according to an explanation issued by the military air command.
This is a record for a C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft, which represents more than double its carrying capacity. The ministry did not specify the number of crew members of this plane, which took off on Sunday in emergency circumstances.
The US military command confirmed that the plane "peacefully transported 823 Afghans from Hamid Karzai International Airport", after it sought on Tuesday to reduce the atmosphere of haste and chaos that prevailed in the evacuations.
A photo published by Defense One showed hundreds of Afghans crammed into the military plane without any preventive or security measures, to take them outside the country.
And the website quoted an American official that the plane did not intend to evacuate this large number, but the "terrified Afghans" who were allowed to take refuge pushed themselves towards the boarding platform, and instead of forcing them to evacuate the plane, the crew decided to contain them in this crowded image.