The first of several German military planes to reach Kabul was only able to evacuate seven people, a foreign policy spokesperson in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said, due to the chaos at the Afghan capital’s airport.
The main mission of the A400M military transport aircraft, described by Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karenbauer as a “breakneck landing”, was to bring German troops to organize and secure the evacuation.
“At the airport we have a very chaotic, dangerous and complicated situation,” she told broadcaster ARD.
“..we had very little time, so we only took people who were on site. Not many people could be at the airport because of the chaotic situation.”
The foreign policy spokesman for the conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Johann Wadeful, told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that seven people were on the plane.