2 deadly plane crashes shock South Asia in just 2 months
On Monday (July 21) a Bangladeshi Air Force fighter jet crashed into the Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Diabari area, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 170. Many of the victims were students who had just been released from classes.
The Chinese-made F-7 BGI aircraft reportedly suffered a mechanical failure during a training mission. 'The exact cause remains under investigation,' the military said in a statement.
This marks Bangladesh's deadliest aviation disaster since 1984, when a commercial flight from Chattogram to Dhaka went down, killing all 49 people on board.
Just over a month earlier, on June 12, tragedy struck India when an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college complex shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. Bound for London with 242 passengers, the flight lost thrust shortly after takeoff. The crash killed all but one of those on board, and 19 others on the ground — bringing the death toll to 279.
The lone survivor, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was seated in seat 11A near the emergency exit and managed to escape the wreckage with severe burn injuries.
His survival has turned seat 11A into a symbol of hope — with some UAE-based travel agents noting a sudden spike in requests for that specific seat number.
Following the Air India crash, passengers flying out of the UAE expressed heightened flight anxiety. Despite the tragedy, many continued with their travel plans, though with a renewed focus on safety.
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