Near-empty rescue plane carrying just wife of ex-Brit marine pictured leaving Kabul – World News

Former British soldier Paul “Pen” Farthing posted the photo of the empty rows of seats in the plane and questioned why more people were not on board with thousands trying to leave

An empty plane but for the wife a former British soldier has been pictured leaving Kabul airport despite thousands of people desperately trying to leave Afghanistan.

Paul “Pen” Farthing, who set up home in Kabul posted a snap of the inside of the empty plane as he complained that it was able to rescue his wife but why not anyone else.

He tweeted: “Kaisa is on her way home! But this aircraft is empty… scandalous as thousands wait outside Kabul airport being crushed as they cannot get in.

“Sadly people will be left behind when this mission is over as we cannot get it right.”

It comes as British authorities have said that the airlift operation is being successfully carried out.

Shocking scenes in Kabul show thousands of people outside the airport trying to escape the country since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital last Sunday.

The Taliban now have control of the entry to the airport and so it has made it difficult for people to pass them and board planes.

The situation has been described as the UK’s worst foreign affairs disaster since Suez in the 1950s while the images of people trying to flee have been compared to the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.

The image of the empty plane posted on social media comes after defence secretary Ben Wallace reportedly claimed the UK was using “every space possible” to bring people out of Kabul.

There have also been plenty of reports this week of Western countries flying out largely empty planes from the airport due to the chaos on the ground.

Currently there are several thousand people who worked for the British government or acted as interpreters for the army and are waiting to leave Kabul.

It is a battle against time as the Americans could pull out their 5,000 soldiers who are protecting the airport at any given moment and that would realistically bring an end to the rescue mission.

Westerners trying to leave via the airport have reportedly found it difficult due to the thousands of locals who are crowding the entry but also their is concern that if they identify themselves to Talibans then they could face reprisals.

In terrifying scenes, footage has shown Taliban fighters opening fire to try and disperse a large crowd with parents desperately trying to protect their children from the bullets.

Another clip showed a baby being handed over a wall to an American soldier and gives a full indication of the fear for what could come in Afghanistan when the Taliban imposes its extreme doctrine.