Kabul airport mobbed as Afghans make a desperate dash to exit

Afghans crowd at the tarmac of the Kabul airport on August 16, 2021.

US troops fired shots into the air and all commercial flights were cancelled at Kabul airport Monday as thousands of Afghans crowded onto the tarmac in the hope of catching any flight out after the weekend Taliban takeover. Dramatic footage posted on social media showed a scene of chaos on the runway, with civilians frantically clambering up an already overcrowded and buckling set of airstairs. It was a desperate bid to board a parked passenger plane and escape the city a day after the government's collapse. As a crowd of hundreds watched on, those who successfully climbed the stairs helped others up, while some hung from the stair railings by their hands.