Afghan teenager who fell from US plane identified as 19-year-old soccer player Zaki Anwari

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By stefan armitage

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A teenager who fell to his death from a US military plane has been identified as soccer player Zaki Anwari, Afghan authorities have confirmed.

As reported by BBC News, Anwari had attempted to stow away on the US plane, which was leaving Kabul airport. The 19-year-old had played for Afghanistan's national youth team.

No further details of his death have been disclosed.

BBC News reports that local authorities said "at least two people" fell to their deaths following the plane's departure, with the US Air Force later confirming that human remains were found in an aircraft's landing gear following its arrival in Qatar.

The soccer player representation organization FIFPRO paid tribute to the teenager, writing on Twitter:

"Our deepest condolences go out to the family, friends and teammates of young Afghan national team footballer Zaki Anwari, who reportedly died in a fall from a U.S. plane at Kabul airport on Monday."

News of Anwari's death comes as hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were seen rushing to Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai International Airport in the wake of the Taliban's takeover of the capital city of Kabul on Sunday.

As reported by CNBC, the Taliban entered the presidential palace and declared the war "over".

One video that conveyed the desperation of the Afghan people showed people clinging to a moving US Air Force plane as it was taxiing on the runway.

A follow-up image shared by Defense One showed 640 evacuated refugees crammed inside a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster II cargo jet.

Speaking to the military news site, a defense official said of the image: "The crew made the decision to go. Approximately 640 Afghan civilians disembarked the aircraft when it arrived at its destination."

BBC News adds that approximately 4,500 US troops are currently presiding over the Karzai International Airport, as members of the Taliban reportedly prevent Afghan citizens from entering the airport without travel documents.

President Joe Biden has since faced backlash for his decision to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan - with his predecessor, Donald Trump, calling for the POTUS to resign.

However, Biden has stood by his decision, telling ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview earlier this week that he believes there was no way of withdrawing US defense from the country without "chaos ensuing".

Stephanopoulos asked Biden: "So you don't think this could have been handled - this exit could have been handled better in any way, no mistakes?"

To which Biden replied: "No, I don't think it could have been handled in a way that, we're gonna go back in hindsight and look - but the idea that somehow, there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens. I don't know how that happened."

Featured image credit: PJF Military Collection / Alamy