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Afghan officials have confirmed that a young soccer player has died after attempting to stowaway a U.S. military aircraft leaving Kabul Airport.
19-year-old Zaki Anwari played for a national youth team in Afghanistan.
No details were given as to when he died.
Thousands of people have been scrambling Kabul’s airports as Western nations have rushed to evacuate their citizens and Afghan colleagues since the Taliban regained Afghanistan.
On Monday, an image appeared showing hundreds of people running beside a U.S. Air Force plane moving down the runway. Some people were seen clinging to that side.
At least two people were killed after takeoff, according to local media reports. The US Air Force also confirmed that human remains were found on the landing gear of an aircraft arriving in Qatar.
In a Facebook statement, Afghanistan’s Directorate General of Physical Education and Sports paid tribute to Mr. Anwari.
“May he rest in heaven and pray to God for his family, friends and fellow sportsmen,” said the sports organization.
Others also share their respect on social media.
“His departure is a big sadness,” one user wrote on Instagram. “Your memory is always important to me.”
Karzai International Airport, located in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, is temporarily controlled by about 4,500 US troops.
The Taliban are blocking Afghans from entering the airport without travel documents, but even those with valid permits are struggling.
In a chaotic scene at the airport, US President Joe Biden defended his treatment of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“I don’t know how it happens, thinking that there is somehow a way out without causing confusion,” he told ABC News Wednesday.
Mr Biden said US troops may have to stay in Afghanistan beyond the August 31 deadline agreed with the Taliban to assist in evacuation.
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