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24th Aug 2021

Afghan woman gives birth on evacuation flight to Germany

Clara Kelly

“The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition.”

An Afghan woman has given birth on a US Air Force C-17 plane from the Middle East to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany which is currently being used as a transit post for Afghan refugees.

The US military’s Air Mobility Command said on Twitter that the woman began suffering from complications on Saturday.

On arrival at Ramstein base, US medical personnel boarded the plane and the baby was delivered in the aircraft’s cargo bay.

“Medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and family off a U.S. Air Force C-17, call sign Reach 828, moments after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, August 21,” they said.

“During a flight from an Intermediate Staging Base in the Middle East, the mother went into labor and began having complications.

“The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mother’s life.”

They added: “Upon landing, Airmen from the 86th MDG came aboard and delivered the child in the cargo bay of the aircraft.

“The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition.”

It comes as thousands of Afghans and foreign nationals surged on to the tarmac at Kabul airport on Monday seeking a place on a flight out of the country.

Commercial flights have mostly been suspended, stranding Afghans and other foreign nationals in the country, while the US continues to evacuate its officials.

The Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan was over on Monday and has taken control of the presidential palace, with the elected president having fled the country.

Afghans now suddenly face the prospect of complete domination by the Taliban again, after the group – in just a matter of days – took the rest of the country in its grip.

The Islamist group was able to seize control after most foreign troops pulled out.

With fears the Taliban could reimpose the brutal regime they enforced prior to the war in 2001, Afghans and foreigners alike have been searching for a way out of the country.