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

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

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:

A US soldier pointed his gun towards an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport in Kabul.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
Afghans crowded at the tarmac of the Kabul airport.-/AFP via Getty Images
Hundreds of people ran alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane, some climbing on the plane, as it moved down a runway.Associated Press
An Afghan child walked near military uniforms as he waited with elders at the Kabul airport.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan people climbed up on a plane and sat by the door as they waited at the Kabul airport. WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan people sat along the tarmac as they waited to leave the Kabul airport.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
US soldiers rested as Afghan people (not pictured) waited to leave the Kabul airport.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan passengers waited to leave the Kabul airport.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan families waited by the luggage conveyor belt in the Kabul airport.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
A volunteer carried an injured man.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan passengers sat inside a plane.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
US soldiers took up their positions as they secured the airport in Kabul.SHAKIB RAHMANI/AFP via Getty Images
Afghans crowded at the tarmac of the Kabul airport on August 16.Anadolu Agency/Photographer: Anadolu Agency/Ana
US soldiers stand guard as Afghan people wait at the Kabul airport.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
A satellite photo provided by Maxar Technologies shows people on the tarmac at Kabul’s international airport.SATELLITE IMAGE ©2021 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/NYT

Christina Prignano can be reached at christina.prignano@globe.com. Follow her @cprignano.