Afghan woman gives birth on US evacuation flight

An Afghan woman gave birth aboard a U.S. evacuation flight upon landing at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Saturday.

The Defense Department’s Twitter account shared photos of medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group helping an Afghan mother and her family exit a C-17 Globemaster III “moments after she delivered a baby aboard the aircraft.”

The plane, according to Air Mobility Command, left from an Intermediate Staging Base in the Middle East and was headed towards the air base in Germany.

Medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and her family off a @usairforce C-17 Globemaster III moments after she delivered a baby aboard the aircraft at @RamsteinAirBase in Germany. pic.twitter.com/339bMiVDVO

— Department of Defense (@DeptofDefense) August 22, 2021

The mother reportedly went into labor and started having complications during the flight. The aircraft commander then “decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mother’s life,” according to Air Mobility Command.

Upon landing, the airmen from the medical group delivered the child in the cargo bay of the plane.

“The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition,” Air Mobility Command wrote in a tweet.

Upon landing, Airmen from the 86th MDG came aboard and delivered the child in the cargo bay of the aircraft. The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition.

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

The news of a baby being born on an evacuation flight comes as the U.S. military works to pull American citizens and Afghan allies from Afghanistan as the security situation in the country continues to decline amid the Taliban’s advances.

The insurgent group seized control of the country last week after overrunning the capital city of Kabul which caused Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the nation and travel to the United Arab Emirates, where he and his family were welcomed “on humanitarian grounds.”

He said he left Afghanistan to prevent clashes with the Taliban and avoid more bloodshed.

The U.S. evacuated roughly 3,900 personnel from Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, according to a White House official.

Overall, the military has pulled around 25,100 individuals from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, and approximately 30,000 since the end of July.