Inside the daring rescue operation that saw elite New Zealand special forces soldiers evacuate a group of New Zealand visa holders from Afghanistan. Video / NZDF
One of NZ's top military brass has spoken of the difficult job done by soldiers working among desperate crowds in Kabul to evacuate escapees from Afghanistan.
NZ Joint Forces commander Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour told Morning Report the special forces on the ground in Kabul facedchallenging conditions working to identify those eligible for evacuation.
They evacuated New Zealanders, their families and visa holders.
Soldiers have earlier told of evacuating people through a canal, through sewage and over barbed wire to get them to safety.
"We had special forces on the ground, and their job was to remain connected with other government agencies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Immigration NZ, in order to be able to identify those people who met the eligibility criteria for return to New Zealand, find them within a crowd - obviously a high-threat environment, and imagine and design ways of getting them inside the airport as best they can - not always when the gates were open."
The work was relentless, and the consequences of getting things wrong high. It was emotional for the soldiers and those they were working with, he said.
NZ Joint Forces commander Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour, who is responsible for leading operations and exercises involving the Defence Force. Photo / NZDF
"[There were] thousands of extremely desperate people trying to get out of the country, and pleading with those who could facilitate them on to the airfield. Trying to find these people within the crowd was no easy task.
"A very stressful time for our soldiers on the ground, they were witness to some appalling conditions, people being crushed in the crowd, and the impending threat of terrorist activity, which ultimately unfolded later."
A suicide bombing at the airport gates killed almost 200 people on August 26.
Among the New Zealand contingent working on the evacuees was a smaller "female engagement team", used to ensure cultural sensitivities were met when working with women and young people, to reduce barriers to communication and action, Gilmour said.
It is thought more than 500 people who were eligible to come to New Zealand were not able to be evacuated.
