Families Share Stories of Loved Ones Who Fell from a Plane on the Day of Afghanistan’s Collapse

Kokcha News Agency: As the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan approaches, families of those who died while trying to flee by clinging to a U.S. military plane at Kabul Airport have shared their heart-wrenching stories. They told AFP that the pain of that day will never fade.

After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, thousands of people rushed toward a departing military plane at Kabul Airport, with some clinging to its exterior in a desperate attempt to escape.

Images and videos from that day captured the horrifying moments when several people fell from the plane to their deaths. These images and videos quickly spread around the world.

One of those who died was Shafiullah Hotak, an 18-year-old who dreamed of becoming a doctor but had to work due to a lack of funds for education.

On August 16, 2021, one day after the Taliban captured Kabul, Hotak was influenced by rumors that the Americans were taking Afghans who wanted to escape with them. That morning, with 50 Afghanis in his pocket, he told his parents, “I’m going to America!”

The airport was filled with families clutching any piece of paper they thought might help them leave with the departing foreigners.

Zar Bibi Hotak, Shafiullah’s mother, said, “He was hopeful and said that if he reached America, he could work and repay everything we had done for him.”

She added, “Shafiullah said the situation wouldn’t get better, so it was better to leave.” His mother said, “I gave him my ID, and he left. Later, we heard he had died.”

Zar Bibi Hotak learned of the incident from relatives who had seen Shafiullah’s photo on Facebook, which had been shared by witnesses at the airport. She said, “I screamed, I ran outside like a madwoman. Some neighbors didn’t know how to react. One of them grabbed me and brought me back home.”

Shafiullah’s body was found on the roof of a house in northern Kabul, several kilometers from the airport.

The body of Fida Mohammad Amir, 24, was also found in a similar manner. His father said Fida Mohammad hated the Taliban. Payenda Mohammad Ebrahimi, Fida’s father, said his son pretended to have a dental clinic appointment on August 16 and left his home and family.

That afternoon, his family tried to contact him. When the phone finally rang, a stranger who claimed to be at the airport asked, “Do you know Fida? He fell from the plane.”

Zaker Anwari, the brother of Zaki who was crushed under the wheels of a plane at Kabul Airport, blamed the pilot and crew for their delay. He said, “Planes have cameras. The pilot knew what he was doing, he knew it was dangerous, he could have stopped.”

However, a U.S. military spokesperson previously stated that because the plane was “surrounded by hundreds of Afghan civilians, the crew decided to leave the airport as quickly as possible.”