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Ex-Royal Marine's wife leaves Kabul in nearly empty 'mercy flight' as Afghans crowd US aircraft

British ex-military Paul Farthing, who lives in Kabul, shared a photo of a nearly empty evacuation flight taking his wife out of Afghantistan

An ex-Royal Marine commando, who has vowed to not leave his workers behind at his animal sanctuary in Afghanistan, even amid the Taliban takeover, recently revealed that his wife was recently flown out of the war-torn nation in an empty "mercy flight" even as photos of desperate families packing into an American plane were circulated online. 

British ex-military Paul Farthing, who lives in Kabul but was separated from his wife during the Taliban's hostile takeover of the country, shared a photo of a nearly empty evacuation flight taking his wife out of Afghantistan. "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," he tweeted. 

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The snap shared by him was in stark contrast to the one posted by NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel which showed Afghans packed in tight in an American C-17 plane with just one bag each in order to flee the terrifying regime of radical Islamists and seek better lives for themselves. The photo was circulated after reports came in about Taliban merceneries going door-to-door on a manhunt for people who worked with UK, US and NATO forces and for minor girls to serve as sex slaves. 

'Empty? That’s outrageous'

Farthing's tweet receives mixed responses. Most people called on governments to unitedly make arrangements for the evacuation of Afghan refugees from the country, expressing outrage about the empty plane. Others wanted Farthing to be grateful that his wife got to avail a flight out of Kabul while many others are struggling to do so. "Why are they letting a plane go out empty?" one of them said, while another noted, "We need them to have a route from the location to the airport now we have decent people and the animals which we have to move to the airport and inside the airport please before it’s too late." A third commented, "Whyyyy is this plane empty?? Why couldn’t we fit the other 71 and the animals?? And the Kabul Animal rescue?!" One more remarked, "What an ungrateful tweet. You made it onto the plane and it took off because someone with more knowledge of the situation than you told it to. Be thankful."

The next stated, "Why are the governments not working together. There are thousands of people that need to be evacuated. If the governments work together, it would be safer and quicker. Who cares whether it was a Norwegian plane or American, there are people that could of been on that plane." Another quipped, "Is there another access road to the airport that can be dedicated towards getting them out that can be manned by our forces or is it only one road in? Anything on the military side of the airport? We need to get Pen, his staff and his animals out ASAP!" A commenter tweeted, "Empty? That’s outrageous. It doesn’t make sense."