At least 20 dead as military plane crashes into school in Bangladesh

News.com.au

2 days ago

At least 20 people, mostly students, have died and over 170 have been injured after a military training aircraft crashed into a school campus in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka.
The Air Force plane was taking part in a routine training mission when it experienced a mechanical issue and hit the Milestone School and College campus in the Uttara neighbourhood in the city's north on Monday afternoon.
Bangladesh Air Force's F-7 BGI training aircraft took off at 1.06pm local time (5.06pm AEST) from the military base in Kurmitola, and crashed shortly afterwards.
A military statement said 20 people were killed, including the pilot, and 171 others were injured. Many of the victims were young students who had just been let out of class.
'The pilot … made a valiant attempt to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas. Despite his best efforts, the aircraft … crashed into a two-storey building belonging to Milestone school and college,' military spokesperson Lt Col Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury said.
At least 83 people are undergoing treatment in several hospitals, many of them with burns, the office of Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus said.
The well-known private school offers education to children from kindergarten through to senior secondary.
Most of the injured were aged between eight and 14.
'Created a boom'
An intense fire and thick smoke can be seen engulfing part of the building in video footage taken in the aftermath of the crash.
An AFP photographer at the scene saw fire and rescue officials taking away the injured students on stretchers.
A witness said he heard a huge blast that felt like an earthquake.
'We have two playgrounds, one for the senior students and one for the juniors,' said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, a student of the school.
'We were on the playground for the seniors. Suddenly one of the two fighter planes crashed here (in the junior playground),' he told AFP.
'It created a boom, and it felt like a quake. Then it caught fire, and the army reached the spot later.'
Tofazzal Hossain, 30, broke down in tears on learning that his young cousin had been killed.
'We frantically searched for my cousin in different hospitals,' Hossain told AFP.
'He was an eighth grader. Finally, we found his body.'
'Profound pain for the nation'
The interim government announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday.
Grieving parents and relatives of the victims thronged the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in the capital, local media reported.
Many were trying to identify their children by their uniform and other belongings.
Yunus expressed 'deep grief and sorrow' over the incident in a post on X.
'The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,' he said.
'This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.'
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was 'deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of lives' in Dhaka.
Relations between the neighbours have been strained since protesters in Bangladesh last year ousted leader Sheikh Hasina, an old ally of New Delhi.
'India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance,' Mr Modi wrote on X.
The crash was the deadliest aviation accident in the country in several decades.
The deadliest ever disaster happened in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board.
Last month, a commercial aircraft crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people.