Girl born on US military plane named Reach
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KABUL • An Afghan girl born aboard a US military plane as her family was fleeing Taleban rule was named Reach after the aircraft's code name, US military officials said.
The baby's mother went into labour last Saturday while being flown to a United States military base in Germany.
As soon as the plane landed, military medics helped the woman deliver her baby on the plane. The mother and child were taken to a nearby hospital.
Each US Air Force aircraft has a code name to communicate with other aircraft and control towers, and the code for C-17 cargo planes is usually "Reach" followed by a number.
The code name for the plane that took the Afghan family to safety was Reach 828 - and that was how the parents decided to name the child, said General Tod Wolters, head of US European Command.
Reach and her parents are headed to the US along with other Afghan refugees, he said.
Of the 7,000 people evacuated from Kabul and who passed through US bases in Europe since Aug 20, only 100 required medical care. Of those 100, 25 have been admitted to a local hospital and 12 have been discharged. Two other babies were born after their mothers landed at the Ramstein base.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE