At least 27 people have been killed and more than 170 are injured after a Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into buildings at a school and college campus in the capital Dhaka.
The F-7 BGI aircraft took off at 1.06pm local time and crashed roughly 12 minutes later in the Diabari area to the north of the capital, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR).
The Bangladeshi military said the aircraft “experienced a technical malfunction” before coming down inside the school campus and immediately bursting into flames. It said an air force committee would be assembled to determine the exact cause of the crash.
The pilot of the plane was identified as Flight Lieutenant Md Toukir Islam, who made “every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location”, the military said. “Unfortunately, the aircraft crashed into a two-storey building” within the school, it added.
The pilot and mostly the young students were among the victims in the crash at the school’s building.
The condition of two dozen injured people with severe burns remained critical at the hospital, the medical officials said on Monday night.
Videos posted to social media in the aftermath of the crash showed fire and smoke emanating from the scene as a crowd of students fled to open ground in panic. Later, a huge crowd of onlookers gathered on the top of buildings around the school to see the search and rescue operation.
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Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh’s interim government, said “necessary measures” would be taken to investigate the cause of the accident and “ensure all kinds of assistance”.
“This is a moment of deep sorrow for the nation. I wish the injured a speedy recovery and instruct all authorities, including the hospitals concerned, to deal with the situation with utmost importance,” he said in a post on X.
Bangladesh’s health ministry said the victims have been admitted to seven different hospitals across Dhaka.
A national day of mourning has been declared for Tuesday.
Panicked parents and relatives were seen rushing to the site of the crash later on Monday. At a local hospital, some relatives were seen holding up boards with the names of the loved ones who they were trying to find. Others appealed to members of the public to make blood donations.
“A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital,” said Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where some victims were taken earlier. Details of the identities of other victims were not immediately available.
A father described his feeling of helplessness while waiting to learn the fate of his daughter.
“The plane crashed on the building where my daughter was. My wife called me, but I was praying so I could not pick up,” Jewel, who goes by one name, said at the scene. “When I came here I saw there was a huge fire. There was a dead body of a child.”
Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school, described the moments he heard a loud explosion as he came to pick up his children.
“When I was picking [up] my kids and went to the gate, I realised something came from behind… I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke,” he told Reuters.
A spokesperson from Milestone School and College said the aircraft crashed near the school gate when classes were underway.
“The plane fell on the gate and crashed nearby. A class was in session where the plane crashed. The injured are being taken out one by one,” the spokesperson said, according to BDnews24.
Bangladesh’s F-7 is a modern variant of China’s Chengdu F-7, itself modelled on the Soviet MiG-21. While considered outdated by global standards, it remains in service due to its cost-effectiveness and suitability for pilot training and limited combat roles. Its production ceased after China delivered the last of 16 units of F-7 BGIs to Bangladesh in 2013.
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