Woman gives birth on US evacuation plane
A QUICK-THINKING US pilot helped to save the life of an Afghan woman who gave birth on board an evacuation flight from Kabul by lowering the plane’s altitude.
The US Air Mobility Command said that the woman, who has not been identified, went into labour and had complications shortly before the US C-17 jet touched down at Ramstein air base in Germany. She subsequently gave birth to a baby girl.
A spokesman for the military unit wrote on Twitter: “During a flight from an Intermediate Staging Base in the Middle East, the mother went into labour and began having complications. The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped save the mother’s life.”
Giving birth at high altitude can be dangerous for both mother and child because of the low oxygen levels.
After the C-17 landed at Ramstein air base, US soldiers boarded the plane and assisted in delivering the baby inside the cargo bay. “The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition,” Air Mobility Command added.it came as the US ordered civilian airliners to assist in the evacuation effort and the UK said seven Afghans had died in the crush outside Kabul airport, where thousands have been desperately trying to flee the country.
In a statement the defence ministry said: “Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible.”
A mother outside the gates told The Telegraph that she was worried she would run out of water in the blisteringly hot conditions.
“We have two bottles of water left, I have to be so careful every time my two children ask. I wonder how I will get more,” she said. “If we move from our location we will be further away from the front.”
One man, holding bloodied documents, told Euronews that his wife had been shot dead as they tried to enter the airport. “I went to the airport with my wife and brother with our two kids. We took all of our documents with us… they fired at people,” he said.
“My kids and I were injured. They shot my wife. I’m left with my two children – what am I supposed to do now?” he said, and broke down in tears.
However, yesterday eyewitnesses told Reuters news agency that the Taliban
had imposed some order at the airport, with Afghans put into queues. Taliban soldiers have also been firing shots into the air and wielding batons in an attempt to restore order.
French military planes over the weekend fired flares as they took off from Kabul airport, a precaution against being fired at with missiles.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, says that 8,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan via 60 flights in the past 24 hours, the highest figure so far.
A Taliban official said on Saturday that security risks could not be ruled out. But they added that the group was “aiming to improve the situation” for people trying to leave.
The Pentagon said on Sunday that 18 civilian aircraft from US airlines, including American Airlines and Delta Airlines, were being ordered to assist in evacuation efforts. President Joe Biden yesterday confirmed civilian airlines may be ordered to help get people out of Afghanistan.
There are mounting concerns that Islamic State terrorists are planning to launch attacks on Western civilians as they gather at the airport. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said yesterday that the threat was “real, acute and persistent”.