Afghan woman gives birth on US military evacuation flight

Afghans and foreigners continue to be taken out of the country to safety

Medical support personnel help an Afghan mother, whose identity has been digitally obscured at source, with her family off a US Air Force C-17 transport aircraft, moments after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

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An Afghan woman has given birth aboard a US Air Force flight, which was en route from the Middle East to an American base in Germany.

The base is being used as a transit point for evacuees from Afghanistan, the US military said.

The mother began having complications during the C-17 flight on Saturday, the military’s Air Mobility Command tweeted.

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, Aug. 21. (cont..) pic.twitter.com/wqR9dFlW1o

— Air Mobility Command (@AirMobilityCmd) August 21, 2021

“The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilise and save the mother’s life," the tweet said.

On arrival at Ramstein airbase, US medical personnel boarded and helped the mother deliver the child in the aircraft’s cargo bay.

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

Countries all over the world are hosting Afghans evacuating the country after the Taliban took over on August 15, prompting President Ashraf Ghani to leave the country.

The UAE is hosting about 5,000 Afghans at the request of the US government, for 10 days.

"The evacuees will travel to the UAE from the Afghan capital of Kabul on US aircraft in the coming days," the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.

The UAE has so far enabled the evacuation of 8,500 people from Afghanistan on its aircraft and through its airports, it said.

Spain’s government said its Rota and Moron military bases used by US forces will temporarily take in Afghans who worked with Western organisations or the former Afghan government, and who fear Taliban reprisals.

One Spanish plane carrying 64 people who worked for the US landed late on Saturday at Spain’s Torrejon airbase near Madrid.

Another 230 evacuees arrived in Spain from Kabul last week. They consist mostly of Afghans who worked for Spain and for the European Union. Fifty-five of these evacuees have already flown on to other EU countries.

Updated: August 23, 2021, 6:09 AM