Evacuation on ABC – In 2021, the world watched as the British armed forces undertook the largest air evacuation since World War II.
Amidst the chaos, confusion and constant threat from Taliban forces in the urgent last days of the war in Afghanistan, over 1,000 UK military personnel were sent to evacuate over 5,000 British nationals and 8,000 Afghans – including thousands of children, with the youngest just one day old.
This three-part documentary series weaves visceral, intimate, raw story-telling with unseen Ministry of Defence archive footage, using unprecedented personal testimony from UK soldiers, as well as Afghans, on the ground in the frenzied evacuation of Kabul.
In tonight’s episode:
A deadly explosion goes off in the sewage canal outside the evacuee handling centre. Unsure whether any of their own have been caught up in the blast, British soldiers rush to the scene to search for anyone who can be saved.
They work with the medics through the night to treat thousands of injured Afghans and American Marines. They pull back from the Baron Hotel, closing the gate on hundreds of vulnerable civilians.
The RAF turns to airlifting their own forces out of the country, bringing the 20-year war to a tragic and unsatisfying end.
Production credit: A Wonderhood Ltd production for Channel 4 Television. Distributed by Fremantle.
Evacuation on ABC and ABC iview – Monday 27 November, 2023 at 8.30pm
TV Central ABC content HERE
