Videos posted on social media showed the mass chaos and panic that engulfed the Kabul airport on Sunday as Afghans and foreigners rushed to try to get out of the country the only remaining way possible. Videos showed panicked people at the airport frantically trying to get on a plane as hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people packed on the tarmac in a desperate attempt to get into any flight possible. “Another Saigon moment,” wrote Saad Mohseni of the Moby Group, a media company in Afghanistan, as he posted a video of the scene.
Mohseni also posted a video of the chaotic scene inside a KamAir flight destined for Istanbul. Earlier, he wrote that 1,000 people were trying to get on board a flight that could only take 300. “Absolute mayhem at Kabul Airport,” Mohseni wrote.
The scene was so chaotic that the U.S. Embassy warned Americans to avoid the airport amid reports of gunfire. A video showed large groups of Afghans at the airport while gunshots can be heard in the background. Another shows people rushing to board a military aircraft as some reports on the ground said civilians had been injured on the tarmac.
The chaotic scenes are bound to continue amid reports Sunday night that the United States is cutting back on flights for Afghans in order to prioritize American personnel. “It is unclear how long the pause in flights will last and the situation remains fluid,” reports CNN’s Jennifer Hansler.
