Afghanistan national footballer among those who died in fall from plane
Premium- Zaki Anwari had been called up to the national youth team as a 16-year-old
An Afghan national team footballer died in a fall from a U.S. plane at Kabul airport on Monday, the Afghan news agency Ariana said on Thursday.
The General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports of Afghanistan, a government institution that worked with sporting groups, confirmed the death of Zaki Anwari in the mayhem that erupted at the airport in the capital this week.
Crowds of people seeking to flee Afghanistan have thronged the airport since Taliban insurgents swept to power on Sunday, many seen trying to board a moving plane.
The 19-year-old footballer died on Monday after falling from a US military aircraft, a Facebook page about the Afghan national football team announced on August 18. The news was confirmed by the General Directorate of Physical Education & Sports in Afghanistan, as per France 24.
The teenager had been called up to the national youth team as a 16-year-old. People have been paying tributes to the young footballer on social media since the news of his death.
A shocking video had appeared on the internet on Monday showing that at least three Afghans fell from the C-17 Globemaster soon after the plane took off from Kabul airport as they had clung to the underbelly of the plane in an attempt to flee the country. US officials are doing due diligence to better understand how events unfolded.
In the video, it appeared that desperate Afghans were clinging on to either the undercarriage of the C-17 or the landing gear of the transport plane when they got flung out due to the huge G-force exerted during take-off.
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