Chaos at Kabul airport as thousands of Afghans try to flee

Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021.

A close-up view of crowds along the runway, during the chaotic scene underway at Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan. Thousands of people converged on the tarmac and airport runways as countries attempted to evacuate personnel from Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021.

Taliban fighters stand guard in a vehicle along the roadside in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021.

People try to enter Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021.

A traffic jam and crowds are seen during the chaotic scene underway at Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands of people rushed onto the tarmac and airport runways, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021.

Evacuees crowd the interior of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, carrying some 640 Afghans to Qatar from Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 15, 2021.

Afghan people sit along the tarmac as they wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021.

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021.

Crowds of people at the terminal, during the chaotic scene underway at Kabul airport, Aug. 16, 2021.

Men try to get inside Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, Aug. 16, 2021.

A member of the Taliban militant group (L) sits on an armored vehicle outside the Kabul airport, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021.

Women with their children try to get inside Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, Aug. 16, 2021.

U.S soldiers stand guard along a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Aug. 16, 2021.

People try to get into Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, Aug. 16, 2021.

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport, Aug. 16, 2021.

U.S. soldiers stand guard along a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Aug. 16, 2021.

Afghan people climb up on a plane and sit by the door as they wait at the Kabul airport, Aug. 16, 2021.

A member of Taliban forces inspects the area outside Kabul's international airport, Aug. 16, 2021.

Afghan passengers sit inside a plane as they wait to leave the Kabul airport, Aug. 16, 2021.