Afghan woman gives birth to 'baby girl' onboard US evacuation flight
Aug 23, 2021
Washington DC [US], August 23 : An Afghan woman on Saturday gave birth to a "baby girl" onboard a US evacuation flight upon landing at a US airbase in Germany.
The Defense Department shared photos of US personnel helping an Afghan mother exit an aircraft "moments after she delivered a baby aboard the aircraft."
"Medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and her family off a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III moments after she delivered a baby aboard the aircraft at Ramstein Air Base in Germany," US Defense Department tweeted along with a picture.
During a flight from an "intermediate staging base" in the Middle East, the Afghan women went into labour and began having complications. According to the US Air Mobility Command, the aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mother's life.
Upon landing, US Airmen 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," US Air Mobility Command tweeted.
Since the Taliban seized power in Kabul, people have been scrambling to get out of war-ravaged Afghanistan. The news of a baby being born on an evacuation flight comes as the US is pulling out thousands of American citizens and Afghan allies from Afghanistan.
Terming the evacuation from Afghanistan the 'most difficult and largest airlift' ever in the history, US President Joe Biden on Friday had assured to get all Americans and allies out of the war-torn country.
"Kabul evacuation is among the largest and most difficult airlifts in history," Biden had said while addressing the press at the White House. He added that it's time to end the Afghan mission and get all Americans out as Afghanistan has been taken over by the Taliban after the collapse of the government on Sunday.
So far, the US military has pulled around 25,100 individuals from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, and approximately 30,000 since the end of July, The Hill reported.
