The US Air Force flight that took off from Kabul Airport, Afghanistan, on the 15th, impressed by the huge number of refugees on board, initially estimated at 640 people.
But the figures were wrong: the Boeing C-17 was carrying 823 Afghan citizens, a record for airlifter aircraft.
The information was corrected on Friday by the Air Mobility Command, which explained the misunderstanding.
According to the USAF transportation division, the initial count excluded 183 children as it had been done based on the number of seats occupied on buses that received the refugees. As the children followed in the adults’ laps, they ended up not being counted.
“CORRECTION: The United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III safely transported 823 Afghan citizens from Hamid Karzai International Airport Aug. 15, 2021. This is a record for this aircraft.
The initial count of 640 inadvertently included only adults. 183 children were also aboard,” posted the Air Force on their social networks.
The image of the interior of the C-17 Globemaster III (an aircraft capable of transporting up to 134 soldiers) with hundreds of people spreads on social media and the press worldwide.
Unfortunately, like the sad video in which many Afghans surrounded a C-17 being used to evacuate Kabul because of the advancing Taliban, a militia that took power in the country with incredible speed.
