Afghan evacuee on last flight to Germany describes panic and shootings at Kabul airport

Record ID: 1634014

  • Title: Afghan evacuee on last flight to Germany describes panic and shootings at Kabul airport
  • Date: 27th August 2021
  • Summary: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (AUGUST 27, 2021) (REUTERS) ARRIVALS BOARD SHOWING "TASHKENT" VARIOUS OF FAMILY WALKING PAST IN ARRIVALS HALL CAMERAWOMAN FILMING UNNAMED 28-YEAR-OLD AFGHAN STUDENT IN CAMERA VIEWFINDER (SOUNDBITE) (German) 28-YEAR-OLD AFGHAN STUDENT, NO NAME GIVEN FOR SECURITY REASONS, SAYING: "We were able to leave Kabul and catch the last flight out. The situation got
  • Embargoed: 10th September 2021 06:57
  • Keywords: Afghanistan Frankfurt airport arrivals Germany Kabul Taliban evacuations panic refugees
  • Location: FRANKFURT, GERMANY / TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN
  • City: FRANKFURT, GERMANY / TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Europe
  • Reuters ID: LVA001ES20LS7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: An Afghan evacuee who made it onto the last flight out of Kabul to Germany said on Friday (August 27) that "panic" reigns at the airport, thanking the German soldiers who personally made his escape at the last minute possible.
    The 28-year-old student told Reuters how he took things into his own hands "with the help of Bundeswehr soldiers" after communications broke down with the German foreign ministry.
    The man, who did not give his name for security reasons, thanked the German army "from the bottoms of our hearts" and said "our heartfelt thanks go to Paul, Torsten, and Tom," the German soldiers who assisted to get him and his wife out.
    His voice breaking, the man described how people have been camping out near the airport for days "to maybe get a chance to get near the entrance and then get inside somehow."
    According to the evacuee, who is training to become a teacher and has lived in Germany for 20 years was only in Afghanistan to see his wife, who still lived there, "for a visa procedure but the situation changed so quickly that we decided to take my wife along too," he said.
    Hours earlier, German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer arrived in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, the German army's temporary hub for Afghanistan evacuations.
    Later on Friday, Kramp-Karrenbauer and her chief of defence Eberhard Zorn were expected to arrive back in Germany with the remaining Bundeswehr soldiers involved in the operation.
    (Production: Andreas Buerger, Frank Simon, Michele Sani)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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