Thousands of Afghans have been filmed desperately chasing after and clinging to a US Air Force plane as it taxied down the runway — as the frightened civilians frantically attempt to flee the country after the Taliban takeover.
In chaotic scenes on Monday, crowds of Afghans stormed Kabul’s international airport and swarmed the tarmac as US military flights were preparing to leave.
One shocking video being shared on social media shows a crowd of people running alongside a military plane as it taxied down the runway.
Dozens of people can be seen trying to grip onto the sides of the plane.
It was not immediately clear how many, if any, were still clutching on as the plane took off.
In other videos, hundreds of people can be seen running across the tarmac as US soldiers fired warning shots in the air.
Desperate stowaways ‘falling to deaths from plane as it left Kabul​ as they tried to escape Taliban’
A US official said troops had fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way onto a military flight that was set to evacuate American diplomats out of the fallen city.
Another shows a crowd trying to push and shove their way up a staircase in a bid to board a plane, with some people hanging off the railings.
Five people were killed during the airport chaos but it wasn’t immediately clear how the victims died.
The shocking scenes came just hours after Taliban insurgents toppled the Western government after a lightening, week-long onslaught across the country.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan.
The US Embassy has already been evacuated and the American flag lowered, with diplomats relocating to the airport to aid with the evacuation.