At least 18 dead as military plane crashes into Bangladesh school campus
The training aircraft crashed into Milestone School and College in the Uttara neighbourhood, shortly after takeoff on Monday, as students were attending classes.
Bangladesh's military said the F-7 BGI jet took off at 1.06pm local time and crashed soon after, catching fire immediately. The cause was not immediately clear.
The pilot was among those killed in the crash, which injured more than 160 others, who, according to local media, were mostly students.
Video footage from the scene shows fire and smoke rising from the crash site, with hundreds looking on.
Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not present at the time of the crash, told The Associated Press by phone that the school, with some 2,000 students, offers classes from elementary to twelfth grade.
'I was terrified watching videos on TV,' the 16-year-old said. 'My God! It's my school.'
It is the deadliest plane crash in the Bangladeshi capital in recent memory.
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Reuters
3 days ago
- Reuters
What is the Chinese-made F-7 jet that crashed into Bangladesh school?
July 22 (Reuters) - A Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet on a routine training mission crashed into a college and school campus in the capital Dhaka on Monday after what the military said was a mechanical failure. At least 31 people were killed, most of them children. Here's what we know about the F-7 BGI jet that went down: The F-7 BGI, which crashed soon after take-off, is a lightweight fighter jet, the final and most advanced version of China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 family, according to Jane's Information Group. The Chengdu J-7 is the licence-built version of the Soviet era MiG-21 and is used for training and limited combat roles. The F-7 is the export variant of J-7. The South Asian country's air force has operated F-7 variants since the 1980s. Dhaka signed a contract for 16 BGI version aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013 - the final batch of the manufactured jets. China manufactured the jets from 1965 to 2013, making it one of the longest-running fighter production lines there. Due to its affordability, the jet was widely exported, especially to developing nations. The J-7 was fully decommissioned from the Chinese military by the end of 2023 but several countries still use the export variant. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran and North Korea are among the countries that have used or still use variants of the F-7. Pakistan is the largest operator of F-7 aircraft and has 66 of them, according to the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. Pakistan also has one of China's most advanced warplanes, the J-10, and used it to launch air-to-air missiles to bring down at least two Indian fighter jets during the recent conflict between the two countries. May 2025 - An Air Force of Zimbabwe pilot died when a F-7 crashed during a routine sortie in the Southern African nation. June 2022 - A J-7 crashed into residential buildings in the Chinese city of Xiangyang in central Hubei Province, killing at least one person on the ground. May 2022 - Two Iranian pilots died after their F-7 crashed during a training mission near Anarak, 200 km (125 miles) east of the city of Isfahan. January 2022 - Two Pakistani Air Force pilots were killed when a FT-7 aircraft, a variant of the F-7, crashed. There have been a number of other incidents with F-7 jets in Pakistan that resulted in deaths of pilots.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Pupils' skin 'peels off' from major burns after horror Bangladesh plane crash into school kills 20
The Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into the Milestone College school campus on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including the pilot, and injuring 171 Students, teachers, and family members have been left shocked and grieving after a Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into a school campus, resulting in at least 20 deaths. Hasbya Rahman, a student at Milestone School and College in Uttara, Dhaka's suburb, told the Bangladeshi news outlet The Business Standard (TBS) that she was in her classroom when the smoking aircraft suddenly hurtled toward the school. 'We saw the plane engulfed in flames as it came toward us, then it crashed right into the building,' Rahman said. Fortunately, she escaped without injury. 'The air was filled with smoke and screams,' she recalled, adding that teachers were desperately trying to evacuate young children, but many were trapped by the fire and smoke. A spokesperson for Milestone School and College confirmed that the jet crashed near the school gates around 1:06 p.m. local time on Monday, July 21, according to the Times of India. Russia earthquake: 7.4 magnitude quake caught on camera before tsunami warning Moment shaken Delta pilot apologises after jet almost crashes with B-52 bomber The Bangladesh Armed Forces reported that at least 20 people, including the pilot, died after the Air Force training jet crashed due to a 'mechanical fault.' Another 171 people were injured. Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school, told Reuters that he noticed something was wrong when he was walking toward the school's outdoor gate. 'When I was picking up my kids and reached the gate, I saw something coming from behind,' he said. 'I heard an explosion. When I looked back, there was only fire and smoke.' According to India Today, the plane hit the front of the three-story school building, trapping several students. The classrooms for children from playgroup through grades 1 to 5, as well as a canteen, were located in the area of impact, according to TBS. CNN reported that Milestone School has students aged 4 to 18. Footage from Bangladesh's Channel 24 showed smoke rising from the building as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. One family member told a local network that his sister, a grade four student, was injured in the crash. Another bystander described the victims arriving at the hospital with severe burns. 'We literally saw skin being torn off,' she said. Teachers and school staff initially helped evacuate students before fire and army rescue teams arrived. Witnesses reported that army personnel carried injured students to vehicles and rushed them to hospitals, as ambulances were not immediately available, according to TBS and India Today. Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh's interim government, vowed that 'necessary measures' would be taken to investigate the crash and provide all needed assistance, the BBC reported. 'This is a moment of deep sorrow for the nation. I wish the injured a speedy recovery and have instructed all relevant authorities, including hospitals, to treat this situation with utmost priority,' he said in a social media statement. Bangladesh will observe a national day of mourning on Tuesday, July 22, with flags flown at half-mast.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Reuters
How did a Bangladesh air force fighter jet crash into a school campus?
NEW DELHI, July 22 (Reuters) - At least 25 children were among the 27 people killed when a Bangladesh Air Force plane crashed into a college and school campus in the capital city of Dhaka on Monday. Here is a look at what happened. The fighter aircraft took off at 1:06 p.m. (0706 GMT) from the air force base in Dhaka's Kurmitola for a routine training mission, but experienced a mechanical failure soon after. The pilot attempted to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas to minimize civilian casualties and damage, but his efforts were unsuccessful and the jet crashed into a building. The two-storey building that the plane rammed into belonged to the Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Diabari area, located about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the air force base. Visuals from the scene showed the mangled remains of the aircraft dented into the side of the building, dismantling its iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure. The bodies of at least 27 people, including 25 children, a teacher, and the jet's pilot, were pulled out from the debris. More than 100 children and 15 other people were also injured, of whom 78 are still admitted in hospitals with burn injuries. The jet was an F-7 fighter aircraft - the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh had signed a contract in 2011 for 16 such planes, and deliveries were completed by 2013. The Bangladesh Air Force has formed a high-level investigation committee to probe the cause of the accident. Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country's interim government, has also vowed to "take all necessary measures" to investigate its cause. In the meantime, the government says it is providing "all kinds of assistance" to those affected.
