US officials found the body of an Afghan in the landing gear of a plane after it left Kabul, as hundreds tried to flee the Taliban by clinging to planes

• A body was found in the landing gear of a US plane that departed Kabul on Monday, reports said.
• Officials discovered the body after the plane's wheels would not go up after takeoff.
• Chaos unfolded at Kabul's airport on Monday as desperate Afghans attempted to flee the Taliban.

The body of an Afghan citizen was found in the landing gear of a US Air Force C-17 that took off from Kabul's airport on Monday, US reports said.

Three US officials told The Washington Post that after the plane's landing gear would not go up, the crew investigated and later found the body in the wheel well.

Politico confirmed The Post's report, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

There was chaos at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday after the Taliban seized the Afghan capital and retook power in a lightning-speed offensive.

Thousands of Afghans seeking to flee the Islamist group swarmed the runways, desperate to board planes transporting US personnel out of the country; all commercial flights were canceled.

In videos circulating on Monday, Afghans could be seen running alongside and clinging to a US plane as it taxied.

Other videos appeared to show people falling from planes to their deaths.

At least seven people were killed in the chaos, including people who fell from planes and two armed men shot by US troops, US officials told The Associated Press.

US forces temporarily closed the airport, seeking to control the crowds. It reopened early Tuesday to resume evacuations.