Fact Check: Did IAF’s C-17 airlift 800 Indians from Kabul?

New Delhi: A photo has been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter claiming that the Narendra Modi government evacuated 800 Indians from Kabul, Afghanistan. Is there any truth in it? Find out here.

News Claim: “IAF C17 airlifts from Kabul airport with 800 Indians. A record which previously stood at 670,” a Twitter user named @GuptaBravi captioned a picture of people onboard a C-17 Globemaster. The same image was circulated by a few other handles on Twitter and on Facebook too.

News Verification: The user @GuptaBravi’s post was flagged by Twitter. The micro-blogging website said, “This media is presented out of context”.

IAF C17 airlifts from Kabul airport with 800 Indians. A record which previously stood at 670. pic.twitter.com/mG1eheIzju

— Simple 🌺🍀🌻 (@GuptaBravi) August 16, 2021

Twitter took action as the photo which was shared is from 2013. It was a rescue mission launched by the US Air Force to evacuated people from the Philippines after a typhoon.

A website had this caption to the same image, “More than 670 Tacloban residents sit on board a C-17 Globemaster III before being evacuated to Manila following Super Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines Nov. 17, 2013. The C-17 is deployed from the 535th Airlift Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, to Clark Air Base in the Philippines in support of Operation Damayan, a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief effort. In addition to the safe transport of the passengers, the Hickam based crew also successfully delivered more than 100,000 pounds of cargo. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Ramon Brockington).”

Verdict: False News.

Indians evacuated: However, the Indian government did bring back Indians from Kabul in a C-17 aircraft. A journalist who was onboard that plane had tweeted an image with the caption, “Aboard a C-17 Globemaster with the entire Indian Embassy staff, ITBP personnel and other civilians … Took-off from #Kabul earlier today at 6:30 AM IST and landed at Air Force Station, Jamnagar at 11 AM. Expect to land in Delhi by 5:30-6 PM.”

Aboard a C-17 Globemaster with the entire Indian Embassy staff, ITBP personnel and other civilians … Took-off from #Kabul earlier today at 6:30 AM IST and landed at Air Force Station, Jamnagar at 11 AM. Expect to land in Delhi by 5:30-6 PM. pic.twitter.com/ZGTkQZi3yY

— Nayanima Basu (@NayanimaBasu) August 17, 2021

Another journalist wrote, “It took me 27 hours to reach from Kabul to Delhi. There was tension, security in numbers, a new exposure to the process of military evacuation. An experience of a lifetime. Safely home.”

It took me 27 hours to reach from Kabul to Delhi. There was tension, security in numbers, a new exposure to the process of military evacuation. An experience of a lifetime. Safely home. 😃 pic.twitter.com/61tbfxdans

— Kanika Gupta| خبرنگار (@kanika0509) August 17, 2021

Hindustan Times reported, “The Indian Air Force C-17 heavy-lift aircraft, carrying the second batch of diplomats, officials and journalists from Kabul, landed in Gujarat's Jamnagar. The IAF aircraft flew from Hamid Karzai International (HKI) Airport around 8am Kabul time with the help of US forces manning the ATC. Indian ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon is on the flight along with 120 other diplomats and officials.”

The Times of India shared images of Indians returning to Jamnagar from Kabul.

Photos: IAF plane brings 120 Indians back home from Afghanistan https://t.co/yWax8DvBu7 pic.twitter.com/Rqlf5AF91O

— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) August 18, 2021