Photos and video show chaos at Kabul airport as Afghans try to flee

Desperate Afghans on Monday overran a tarmac in Kabul as they tried to board planes leaving the country amid the Taliban’s swift takeover of the capital city.

Photos and video showed the crowds swarming a US Air Force plane as it tried to depart the city, with some climbing aboard the side of the aircraft. Other videos showed crowds trying to climb aboard a jetway. The US military reportedly took control of the civilian side of the airport as it evacuated American embassy staff and other personnel. Seven people were killed in the chaos, according to the Associated Press, including some who fell from a departing aircraft.

CNN reported Monday morning that the US military had suspended air travel at the airport as it works to secure the area.

Here are videos and photos of the scene at the airport:

Chaotic scenes as Afghans attempt to cling to US Air Force plane departing from Kabul

Latest: https://t.co/eRDvQGay6B pic.twitter.com/moOTTuxoF9
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 16, 2021

A US soldier pointed his gun towards an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport in Kabul.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

Footage shows chaos at Kabul International Airport as hundreds try to flee the besieged Afghan capital as Taliban forces move in https://t.co/evnjJZ7fvK pic.twitter.com/2hIrHky9iV
— CNN International (@cnni) August 16, 2021

Footage shows people crowding the airport tarmac in Kabul after the Taliban entered the Afghan capital. https://t.co/zyaDykV2Ey pic.twitter.com/esjNeK9nwu
— ABC News (@ABC) August 15, 2021