Bangladesh military plane crashes into Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka
At least 19 people, mostly students, have been killed after a military plane crashed into a school campus in Dhaka in Bangladesh.
More than 100 people were injured in what was the deadliest aviation incident in the country in decades on Monday night, while 83 were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment, the office of interim leader Muhammad Yunus said.
A military statement said 19 people were killed, including the pilot, and 20 others were critically wounded.
At least 51 people, mostly students, were undergoing treatment at Dhaka's National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, its director Mohammad Nasir Uddin told AFP.
The Chinese-made F-7 BJI plane - a training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force - took off at 1.06 pm local time ( about 5pm AEDT) and crashed soon after moments students were let out of classes at the Milestone School and College campus in the Bangladeshi capital.
A witness said he had 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.'
Bangladesh's interim government announced a day of national mourning as grieving parents and relatives of the victims thronged the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka.
Many were trying to identify their children by their uniform and other belongings, local media reported.
Mr 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.'
The incident comes just a month after an Air India plane crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people.
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The Advertiser
9 hours ago
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Death toll rises to 27 in Bangladesh air force crash
At least 27 people have been killed after a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials say, with 88 people, including children, being treated in hospital. The aircraft crashed soon after it took off from an airbase in the capital on a routine training mission. The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure. Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, told reporters that 27 people had died and 88 were admitted to hospital with burn injuries after the crash on Monday, local time. The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship. The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate what happened. The jet, a F-7 BGI, is the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013. The crash comes weeks after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad in neighbouring India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. At least 27 people have been killed after a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials say, with 88 people, including children, being treated in hospital. The aircraft crashed soon after it took off from an airbase in the capital on a routine training mission. The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure. Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, told reporters that 27 people had died and 88 were admitted to hospital with burn injuries after the crash on Monday, local time. The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship. The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate what happened. The jet, a F-7 BGI, is the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013. The crash comes weeks after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad in neighbouring India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. At least 27 people have been killed after a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials say, with 88 people, including children, being treated in hospital. The aircraft crashed soon after it took off from an airbase in the capital on a routine training mission. The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure. Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, told reporters that 27 people had died and 88 were admitted to hospital with burn injuries after the crash on Monday, local time. The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship. The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate what happened. The jet, a F-7 BGI, is the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013. The crash comes weeks after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad in neighbouring India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. At least 27 people have been killed after a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials say, with 88 people, including children, being treated in hospital. The aircraft crashed soon after it took off from an airbase in the capital on a routine training mission. The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure. Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, told reporters that 27 people had died and 88 were admitted to hospital with burn injuries after the crash on Monday, local time. The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship. The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate what happened. The jet, a F-7 BGI, is the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013. The crash comes weeks after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad in neighbouring India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
SBS Australia
9 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Dozens killed or injured as plane crashes into school in Bangladesh
The mood is sombre in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, where the country's worst aviation disaster in decades has killed at least 20 people. On Monday, a Bangladeshi fighter jet crashed into the Milestone School and College. Many of the victims were young students, let out of class just moments before a mechanical failure caused the plane to collide with the two-storey building. Muhammad Yunus is the Head of Bangladesh's Interim Government. He says everyone must support each other through this tragedy. "I have no words. I don't know how to begin. None of us ever imagined it. It wasn't within anyone's expectations. But we had to suddenly accept this unbelievable reality. We extend our deepest sympathies to the parents, families, and loved ones. Every child in Bangladesh is your child. Please try to find comfort among yourselves. We are all trying to comfort one another. What a tremendous tragedy this is. We are with you. The entire nation stands with you." The Bangladeshi military says that the aircraft, a Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft, encountered a mechanical failure. Located north of the city's international airport and military base, the Milestone School and College is a well-known private school that teaches kindergarten through high school. The military says the pilot, who died in the crash, attempted to divert the aircraft away from the densely populated area. Officials say the cause remains under investigation. One student at the school says many were still in class when they heard a huge blast. 'Most of the students were in class — it was probably break time, so a few students were coming out, but the majority were still in class. There was a lady teacher with me who said that the lady teacher in the next room had one side of her face completely burned. Even when I arrived here, there was a teacher with me — the side of his back, his face, and his hands were severely burned. His condition was really bad." As grieving and fearful relatives flowed through the hospitals, dozens lined up to donate blood to the injured. With some bodies yet to be identified, families searched frantically for their relatives. Soldiers at the crash site used megaphones to control the panicked crowds, complicated further by the area's dense population, a nearby train station and surrounding businesses. A father who was looking for his daughter rushed to the school on hearing the news of the crash. "The plane crashed in the building where my daughter was. My wife called me but I was praying so I could not pick up. After finishing payers, I called her and she said crying that a plane has crashed into a building where my daughter's class is. I did not know what to do and then left, and when I came here I saw there was a huge fire. There was a dead body of a child." The father, who went only by Jewel, says he had been looking for about 20 minutes when he got the call. "I could not get any news of my daughter. But after about 20 minutes, she called me and told me that she is fine, don't be tense. My daughter went (from the school) to her friend's home with her mother. In the meantime, I saw many injured (people), skin peeling off the injured." As well as the at least 20 people killed in the crash, more than 170 people were injured, most aged between eight and fourteen years old. Witnesses say the collision caused a major blast, shaking the building before catching fire. Rescued from the smouldering two-storey building, many suffered burns and were taken away in helicopters, motorised rickshaws and the arms of firefighters and parents. Harunur Rashid is a resident surgeon at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. 'Most of the patients are children. Less than 12 years (old). This is the age group of the patients. Critical patients are also them (children). But one person, her age is 40 years old, she is a servant (staff) of that school, she is also admitted in our hospital.' Just last month, a commercial aircraft crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people. Despite strained relations between India and Bangladesh, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he is deeply shocked and saddened at the news. In a statement, he writes that India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support. The crash was the worst aviation accident in Bangladesh since 1984, when a plane flying to Dhaka crashed and killed all 49 on board. Dr Asif Nazrul, a law advisor in the Interim Government, says tomorrow will be a day of mourning. 'The hospital authorities and the National Burn Unit have informed us that they have completed all the necessary preparations for treatment. Even then, if needed, doctors will be brought in from abroad. If necessary, the students currently in the burn unit will be sent abroad for treatment. There will be no shortage in treatment or rehabilitation. However, no matter what is done, nothing can compensate for the loss we have suffered today. Tomorrow has been declared a day of national mourning, and the national flag will be flown at half-staff.'
Perth Now
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Nineteen die as Bangladeshi air force jet hits college
At least 19 people have been killed and 164 injured as a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in the capital Dhaka after experiencing a technical problem shortly after take-off, a military spokesman says. The F-7 BGI jet took off at 1.06pm from the Bangladesh Air Force base in Kurmitola, Dhaka as part of a routine training mission but encountered a mechanical failure, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury said. "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," he said. The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate its cause. The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced variant in the Chinese Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013. The Chengdu F-7 is the licence-built version of the Soviet MiG-21. Videos of the aftermath of the crash showed a big fire near a lawn emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky as crowds watched from a distance. Firefighters sprayed water on the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure, footage filmed by Reuters showed. "A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital," Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said. Images from the scene also showed people screaming and crying as others tried to comfort them. "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," said Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school.
