A special flight operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) reportedly landed in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 16 to bring back stranded Indians, including embassy staff. “India had kept C 17 Globemasters on standby for evacuation missions. One of them was sent to Afghanistan on Sunday and a second one took off from the Hindon air force station on the outskirts of Delhi on Monday,” reported Hindustan Times.

A photograph of hundreds of people cramped up inside an aircraft has now been shared claiming, “IAF C 17 with 800 people airlifted…This is from Kabul Airport this morning.”

The image is circulating on Facebook and Twitter alike.

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Image from 2013

A reverse-image search on Google shows an article on the website af.mil from 2013. The website, dedicated to the US Air Force, was not accessible but Alt News found an archived version of the article from December 19, 2013.

We also found an archived link of the photo details which said that it was taken on November 17, 2013. “More than 670 Tacloban residents sit onboard a C-17 Globemaster III before being evacuated to Manila following Super Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines,” says the description. The image has been credited to U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Ramon Brockington.

The claim that the Indian government rescued 800 people by a C-17 is false.

The US government put 640 people on the aircraft on Sunday during an evacuation effort. The C-17, numbered RCH 871, took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on Sunday for the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, reported The Daily Mail.

NDTV reported that according to its sources, at least 200 Indians, including some 100 personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, are waiting to be evacuated. Around 45 people were evacuated on Monday.

The Indian Air Force C-17, carrying the second batch of diplomats, officials and journalists from Kabul, landed in Gujarat’s Jamnagar on Tuesday. After 24-hour negotiations, 120 people were brought back to India.

The viral claim is therefore false on both counts – neither is the picture recent nor has the Indian government evacuated 800 people from Kabul.

The post Photo from 2013 viral as Modi govt rescues 800 Indians by IAF C-17 aircraft appeared first on Alt News.

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