Afghan woman delivers baby girl aboard evacuation flight

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A happy ending just got happier.

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A pregnant woman went into labour mid-flight after fleeing Afghanistan.

The Afghan woman was aboard a C-17 transport aircraft headed to Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on Saturday, when she began to experience complications, the U.S. military said.

“During a flight from an Intermediate Staging Base in the Middle East, the mother went into labor and began having complications,” the U.S. Air Mobility Command wrote on Twitter.

“The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mother’s life.”

Once the flight landed at the military base, personnel from the 86th medical group boarded the plane and delivered the baby in the cargo bay of the aircraft.

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Medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and family off a U.S. Air Force C-17, call sign Reach 828, moments after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 21. (cont..) pic.twitter.com/wqR9dFlW1o

â€" Air Mobility Command (@AirMobilityCmd) August 21, 2021

Mom and baby, a girl, were taken to a nearby medical facility and are in “good condition,” said the air force.

They are just two of the more than 5,000 evacuees who have arrived at the U.S. airbase from Kabul.

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The U.S. military had aimed to evacuate 5,000 to 9,000 people out of Afghanistan daily but hours-long delays at the airport have hampered those plans, reported CNN.

More than 17 flights arrived at Ramstein on Saturday with another 14 expected Sunday, Senior Master Sgt, Stacia Zachary, Superintendent of Public Affairs, told the news network.

A “tent city” is being created to house evacuees, who are expected to stay at the base for two to three days, but could remain there for up to 10 days under an agreement with Germany.

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