Afghan national junior footballer died in fall from US military aircraft, says Sports Directorate

Zaki Anwari, a 19-year-old Afghan who played in the national junior football team died as he fell from a US military plane, Afghanistan’s General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports confirmed in a statement on social media Thursday morning.

“It is with great sadness that Zaki Anwari, one of the players of the national junior football team of the country, died in a bad accident,” the translated statement read. “The late Anwari among hundreds of young people who wanted to leave the country fell down in an accident from the air, the US military message fell down and lost his life. “The Afghan Sports Society of this known incident for Zaki Anwari, may he rest in heaven and pray to God for his family, friends, and sports colleagues,” it added.

Crowds of people seeking to flee Afghanistan have thronged the airport since Taliban insurgents swept to power on Sunday, many seen trying to board a moving plane.

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Thousands of Afghans went to Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday, the day after the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital, seeking to board a flight out of the country.

A day after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, thousands of people flooded the tarmac of the international airport in Kabul. Images of people clinging to a flying plane circulated around the world. https://t.co/piEQn5iWUi
— Global News Break (@newsbreaknow) August 18, 2021