'It was a gamble I took that went wrong': Miles Routledge claims to be in Kabul. Photo / Supplied, 4Chan
'It was a gamble I took that went wrong': Miles Routledge claims to be in Kabul. Photo / Supplied, 4Chan
A British student says he has 'no regrets' after being stranded in Kabul, having flown out to Afghanistan for a holiday.
'It was a gamble I took that went wrong': Miles Routledge claims to be in Kabul. Photo / Supplied, 4Chan
The 21 year old thrillseeker Miles Routledge claims to have travelled to the country four days ago, unaware of the rate at which the Taliban was advancing on the capital.
Posting his exploits in a series of attention-grabbing social media posts, Routledge first caught the attention of internet messaging forums over the weekend by posing at landmarks for photos.
"Decided to pop down to Afghanistan for a few days," he wrote under a selfie from the Bird Market in Kabul. "Seems more peaceful than London to me."
Sharing holiday photos to the messaging board 4Chan, the initial reaction was skeptical that the University of Loughborough student could be trapped in Afghanistan.
Miles Routledge is believed to be stranded in Afghanistan, says the UK Foreign Office. Photo / Supplied
He produced copies of his entry visa and a Turkish Airlines ticket, dated Friday 13 August, as evidence.
Photos showing Routledge in front of such landmarks as the tomb of the Afghan resistance fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud were later verified by Bellingcat in a report for Vice News.
there's currently a british guy called Lord Miles in Kabul having a wonderful time. pic.twitter.com/nW4R9d6VVB
"There was no convincing me otherwise and I knew the risks, it was a gamble I took that went wrong."
The physics student told The Times he was currently in "safe hands" and is with Turkish and UK soldiers in the city.
"I still have no regrets but damn I wish I packed more socks," he told the newspaper on Monday.
He is hardly the first Western tourist to have visited the country. Adventure tourists and attention seekers have been visiting the country since the early 2000s and the US invasion.
However the speed and extent of the collapse of the city had taken him by surprise.
Stranded in Kabul: Online messaging forums were skeptical of the tourist's tall claims. Photo / Screenshot, 4Chan
He described the rapid change in the Afghan capital in the space of four days, as he witnessed a run on banks and families attempting to flee the city with their possessions.
"I'm struggling to stand and keep down water, I don't think I'll sleep tonight, I've seen too many dead people," He told The Times on Monday.
A fellow Loughborough University student condemned Routledge's rash decision to fly to Afghanistan but did not say it was out of character.
The tourist held a ticket for a flight to Kabul on Friday 13 August. Photo / Supplied, 4Chan
"This story is very much real and very much his style," he wrote to internet forum Reddit.
"The guy is a proper sociopath, and a massive attention-seeker."
Yesterday the UK Foreign Office said that they were "aware of this case and are attempting to reach the individual to offer assistance."
Routledge is one of 4000 UK nationals that the office was trying to locate and evacuate from Afghanistan.
"We are working hard to contact all the British nationals we are aware of who remain in Afghanistan, to help them leave the country," a spokesperson told the Metro newspaper.
"The safety of British nationals is our top priority which is why we have been urging British nationals to leave Afghanistan by commercial means since 21 April. "
Commercial air links out of the country are no longer a possibility and yesterday all flights - military and civilian - were grounded at Kabul International Airport.
Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told RNZ the New Zealand government was working to fly 30 New Zealand nationals out of the country. This may involve New Zealand Defence Force flights or work with Australian repatriation flights as commercial options are no available.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been actively trying to contact those that they believe may be in Afghanistan and working to get people out, previously there have been commercial options for people to leave on if they're able to get to the point of departure, that will increasingly, if not already, no longer be an option."
