At least 19 people, including a young student, were killed on Monday after a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school and college campus in the Uttara area of Dhaka, officials said. According to a Reuters article, the Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family’s most sophisticated variant is the F-7 BGI. Bangladesh inked a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011, with delivery completed by 2013.
“The pilot… made a heroic effort to reroute the airplane away from thickly populated areas. Despite his best attempts, the airplane… crashed into a two-story building belonging to Milestone School and College,” military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury stated.
The pilot was among those killed in the event, according to the military, which also announced the formation of a commission to investigate the cause.
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,” AFP quoted Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, who is enrolled at the school. “We were on the playground for the seniors. There were two fighter planes… Suddenly one of the two planes crashed here (in the junior playground),” he told AFP.
The case update addresses the number of fatalities from the Bangladesh Air Force F-7 aircraft crash today at Milestone School and College in the Uttara area of Dhaka has now risen to 16, with rescue efforts underway. More than 50 people, including a number of students, have been hurt, according to officials, many of them severely burned. According to sources, a fire service official stated that at least 19 people had died, even though the official death toll was 16. As rescue efforts continue, it is anticipated that the death toll will rise.
According to officials, the F-7 BGI fighter jet used by the Bangladesh Air Force for training purposes took off at 1:06 PM local time before crashing into the school campus in what is now being called one of the worst peacetime aviation accidents in the country. The jet plummeted into the educational complex during active school hours, turning a regular afternoon into a horrifying scene of flames, panic and chaos.
Thirteen injuries and one death were reported in the early reports. But as of late afternoon, more than 50 people were hurt, many of them gravely, and at least 16 people including a young student had been officially declared dead. According to a senior fire official quoted by Reuters, the number of fatalities may reach 19, but this has not yet been officially verified. Many of the injured are receiving treatment at local hospitals after suffering severe burn injuries.
The country’s interim leader, Mohammed 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.
The pilot – identified as Flight Lieutenant Mohammed Toukir Islam – 16 children, and two teachers were killed in the crash that took place early afternoon. Over 100 people, many of whom are students, were injured, some with severe burns, and have been rushed to nearby medical facilities.
Panic and Flames at Campus
As fire spread around the collision site, unsettling photos from the incident showed thick black smoke rising into the sky as the flames engulfed the crash site. Parts of the school building were in ruins, and the grounds were covered in twisted aircraft debris and broken concrete. Teachers and children screamed and fled for their lives in what witnesses called a “nightmarish” scene.
Emergency responders, including firefighters, rushed to the spot and worked for hours to extinguish the flames and extract survivors from the rubble. The wreckage left a gaping hole in one section of the building, and several classrooms have been completely destroyed.
Government Response and Investigation
Bangladesh’s interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus expressed deep sorrow, calling the tragedy “irreparable.” He extended condolences to the bereaved families and assured “all kinds of assistance” for the victims. In a statement, he said, “A full investigation will be launched to ascertain the cause of the crash. The nation mourns this great loss.”
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) department confirmed the aircraft’s last contact with air traffic control was shortly before the crash. A probe team has been formed to investigate potential technical failure or pilot error.
National Mourning and Unanswered Questions
Concerns regarding the safety of military training close to civilian institutions are being voiced as relatives assemble outside of hospitals and the burned-out school grounds. Whether the pilot was able to eject or whether there were indications of distress prior to impact has not yet been confirmed by authorities.
The nation has been left shaken, with flags flying at half-mast and social media flooded with condolence messages and calls for accountability.
