Over 600 Afghans crowd the interior of a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft on Sunday. Reuters

The chaotic scenes at Kabul airport spoke volumes for the utter desperation of the residents to flee the country after the Taliban took over control of the nation. Television footage of thousands crowding the tarmac of Hamid Karzai international airport and running alongside – and even clambering the airbridge of – a US Air Force Hercules transport plane as it readied for takeoff dominated the news.

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However, not all were unfortunate. Over 600 of them flew out in a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at the last minute. It was the most unusual cargo ever carried perhaps by the aircraft, which was packed to the rafters as scores sat on the floor.

Extraordinary, distressed times call for extraordinary measures to stem the panic. These were not conventional passengers, as none of them appeared to be carrying any baggage, having abandoned all their belongings behind while fleeing the dreaded Taliban, according to a report.

The number of Afghans who flew were among the most people ever flown in the C-17, according to the news website Defence One, the report said.

US President Joe Biden strongly defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.

It was a choice between honouring a withdrawal pact or sending back thousands of soldiers to start a third decade of war, he said.