A Bangladesh Air Force training fighter jet crashed into a school building in Dhaka shortly after takeoff on Monday, killing at least 20 people, mostly students, and injuring 171, in one of the deadliest aviation accidents in the country's history.
The F-7 BGI aircraft, a training fighter jet manufactured in China, experienced a "mechanical fault" moments after takeoff and crashed into the two-storey building of Milestone School and College at Diabari in Dhaka's Uttara area, officials said.
The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Mohammad Towkir Islam, was killed in the crash.
“Twenty people, including Flight Lieutenant Toukir Islam, have so far been killed and 171 others injured in the crash,” according to an updated statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) - the media wing of the military.
The pilot attempted to steer the aircraft away from densely populated areas. However, despite his efforts, the aircraft tragically crashed into the two-storey building of the school, said the ISPR.
The jet crashed "due to a mechanical fault" (the details of which will be informed after investigation) after taking off from the Bangladesh Air Force Base AK Khandaker in Kurmitola at 01:06 pm as part of a regular training, the statement said.
"All injured individuals are being promptly transported to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and nearby hospitals for necessary treatment, with assistance from Air Force helicopters and ambulances," it said.
It said that the chief of army staff and senior military officers rushed to the crash site where rescuers, including firefighters, army troops, police and elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), continued their rescue operations.
A high-level investigation committee has been formed by the Bangladesh Air Force to determine the cause of the accident, the statement added.
In New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep shock at the loss of lives in the crash. "Deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of lives, many of them young students, in a tragic air crash in Dhaka. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families," Modi said on X.
"We pray for the swift recovery of those injured. India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance," he added.
Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence Brigadier General Zahed Kamal earlier told reporters here that the crash and the subsequent fire killed 19 people. At least 50 others were critically injured, he added.
He said that rescuers recovered 19 bodies from the school compound alone while the rescue operation was underway.
Earlier, Md Sayedur Rahman, the special assistant to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus for the Health Ministry, said that injured people, mostly students, were being treated at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka Medical College Hospital, and the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (NIBPS).
According to doctors, eight of the injured were in critical condition.
"The number of injured people being brought to our facility is rising,” a doctor at NIBPS told reporters.
Fire service officials earlier said the jet crashed atop a building of the school with a big bang and immediately caught fire.
According to police, firefighting units, ambulances, and air force helicopters rushed to the scene soon after the crash.
A teacher of the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that security personnel were putting bodies in body bags to be taken to Dhaka’s combined military hospital from the damaged building, which housed classes from one to seven.
"Dozens of ambulances were carrying the wounded to nearby hospitals,” she said.
The National Burn Institute in the capital said they were treating 18 people, mostly students, some with critical conditions.
The interim government has declared a one-day state mourning on July 22 when the national flag will be flown at half-mast across Bangladesh and its missions abroad.
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus expressed shock and sorrow over the casualties caused by the crash.
"I am deeply saddened by the casualties caused by the heartbreaking accident involving a Bangladesh Air Force jet at the Milestone School and College campus," he said in a statement.
Fahim Hossain, an eleventh-grade student, said that the jet crashed right in front of his eyes – just 10 feet ahead of him.
"It hit the ground floor of a two-storey building around 1:15 pm, where classes for the primary section were taking place," Fahim told The Daily Star.
The plane crashed in front of the classrooms used by class 3 and class 4 students.
Recounting the experience, a teacher who was injured in the incident said students were lining up to leave the school just as the final bell rang when the flames erupted.
"There was no warning. Before we even understood what was happening, there were flames all around. Visibility dropped instantly. All I could see was fire, then smoke," the teacher said. "Both of my hands were burnt. I'm also experiencing breathing difficulties, and my face and ears are scorched." Witnesses said many wounded people were carried away by spontaneous volunteers and army troops from the crash site, even in rickshaws and tricycle vans.
"We transported some of the injured with burns onto rickshaws and vans. Their clothes were ripped apart, torn, and some even were walking towards rescue vehicles with burn injuries on their bodies," said Nuruzzaman Mridha, a teacher of the school.
The crash was one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Bangladesh in several decades, Bangla-language daily Prothom Alo reported.
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul said that today's crash was "a great tragedy in our national life on an unprecedented scale".
Three platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed at the crash site to assist the law enforcement and rescue operations, according to a BGB press release.
