His football team the Khorosan Lions reported that he had been among the teen’s videoed clinging to the side of a US C-17 transport.
Mr Anwari’s remains were reportedly discovered in the wheel well of a US C-17 transport jet when it arrived in Qatar, after the plane had taken off from Kabul with despairing Afghans clinging to the fuselage on Monday.
Afghan journalist Babak Taghvaee said: ‘Very sad to hear that one of the youths who tried to leave #Kabul through grabbing the landing gear bay of a #USAF’s C-17A transport airplane few days ago was a player of #Afghanistan’s National youth soccer team, Zaki Anvari.
‘His body parts were found in the landing gear bay.’
Conflicting local reports said the athlete had fallen from the plane.
Mr Anwari was among several people who d!ed after clambering onto the aircraft as it took off, with harrowing video showing bodies tumbling to the ground as the jet climbed into the sky.
Two of those who d!ed when they fell from the plane were reported to be teenage brothers who sold watermelon at Kabul’s central market. Aged 16 and 17, social media reports said the brothers routinely scavenged in the bins of Kabul’s markets to provide for their mother because the family was so poor.
The horr!fying scenes of so many young men sat on a fin below the plane’s turbine as it barreled down the runway, only to then fall hundreds of feet to their de*ths, will likely become the defining image of Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The United States Air Force later said that the pilots decided to go ahead with takeoff because the jet ‘was surrounded’ and there was a ‘rapidly deteriorating security situation around the aircraft.’
Mr Anwari’s de*th was confirmed by the General Directorate of Physical Education & Sports of Afghanistan, Arian News reported on Thursday.
The promising footballer had rushed to the airport hours after Kabul fell to the Ta|iban, joining thousands of others in pouring onto the runway and then chasing after the USAF jet despite warning sh0ts ringing out.
The beloved teen had attended the prestigious French-speaking Esteqlal High School, in Kabul, and had been called up to the national youth team as a 16-year-old. His ‘unspeakable loss’ was mourned by his friends and peers on social media today.
In a poignant last Facebook post, Mr Anwari had written: ‘You’re the painter of your life. Don’t give the paint brush to anyone else!’
Zaki Anwari attended a prestigious French-American school in Kabul alongside the children of western diplomats
His social media profile is one of an aspiring influencer, filled with western-influenced modelling style photos.
Zaki Anwari, 19, had played for the Afghan national youth football team
Anwari was among young Afghan men were seen clambering onto the USAF jet as it took off from Kabul on Monday. At least three of them d!ed, two teenage brothers by falling from the wheels and Anwari was reportedly found de*d in the wheel well
MONDAY: Video footage emerged showing a dozen men – some young – clinging to the landing gear of a US evacuation jet flying out of Kabul airport as pandemonium unfolded after the Ta|iban seized the capital
The 19-year-old is believed to be among several people who d!ed after clinging to the jet as it took off on Monday
The promising footballer had rushed to the airport hours after Kabul fell to the Ta|iban, joining thousands of others in pouring onto the runway and then chasing after the USAF jet despite warning sh0ts ringing out
At least three bodies were seen falling from the USAF jet as it climbed into the air on Monday
People chasing after a USAF C-17 cargo jet at Kabul airport on Monday, when thousands poured onto the runway for a chance to flee the Ta|iban
Shocking clip shows Afghan clinging to front wheel of moving plane
One friend wrote today: ‘He was a brother, with whom I had the most unforgettable memories, and his unspeakable loss fills me with sadness.’
Afghanistan’s assistant manager Ali Askar Lali said: ‘May his soul rest in peace and his memory be remembered.’
The United States Air Force on Tuesday confirmed that it was opening an investigation into the takeoff that saw Mr Anwari and several others clinging to the plane’s exterior as it ascended.
Footage showed people sitting on fin below one of the plane’s turbines while others darted underneath the nose of the plane and in front of its wheels.
‘The aircraft was surrounded by hundreds of Afghan civilians who had breached the airport perimeter,’ said USAF.
‘Faced with a rapidly deteriorating security situation around the aircraft, the C-17 crew decided to depart the airfield as quickly as possible. Human remains were discovered in the wheel well of the C-17 after it landed at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
‘The aircraft is currently impounded to provide time to collect the remains and inspect the aircraft before it is returned to flying status.’
Up to eight people were k!lled amid chaotic scenes at the airport on Monday, including two arm-ed men who were sh0t by US troops. Evacuations were paused as American and allied soldiers attempted to secure the airport perimeter, before resuming 90 minutes later.
Since Sunday, a total of 12 people are believed to have been k!lled at Hamid Karzai airport, some of whom have been crushed in stampedes as terr!fied civilians react to constant rattles of machine g*n fire.
And despite Washington’s claims that the airport has been secured, images and reports from the ground paint a terr!fying picture of Ta|iban fighters roaming the perimeter and barring anyone from entering.
