An image showing a huge number of people sitting in a cargo plane has gone viral on social media with a claim that 800 Afghanistan citizens were airlifted from Kabul by Indian Air Force (IAF) C17 aircraft after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
The image is being shared on Facebook with a caption that reads, “IAF C 17 with 800 people airlifted….a record. That’s a trainload almost. The previous highest was 670. This is from Kabul Airport this morning.”
Here’s the link to the above post. Check similar posts here and here.
The post has gone viral on Facebook.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be FALSE.
Doing a simple Reverse Image Search directed us to a website called ‘Pacific Air Force’ that carried the viral image on December 17, 2013. Pacific Air Force is a major command of the United States Air Force.
The caption of the image reads, “More than 670 Tacloban residents sit onboard a C-17 Globemaster III before being evacuated to Manila following Super Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines Nov. 17, 2013.”
Below is the comparison of the viral image and the original image.
However, it is true that IAF C-17 is being used to evacuate Indian officials from Kabul, Afghanistan.
According to another news report, the US government did put 640 people in a C-17 aircraft to evacuate them on Sunday (August 15, 2021). Check a similar news report here.
Thus, it is evident that an old image from the Philippines is being shared as 800 Afghanistan citizens are being airlifted in IAF C-17 aircraft.
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