A Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BJI training aircraft, manufactured by China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, crashed into the Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka’s Uttara neighborhood on Monday, k!lling at least 19 people, including the pilot, and injuring over 100 others.
The devastating incident occurred moments after students were let out of class at 1:00 p.m., sparking chaos and panic among the school community.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR), the jet, identified as an F-7 BGI with tail number 701, took off at 1:06 p.m. local time from BAF Base Bir Uttom A. K. Khandker on a routine training mission.
Just 12 minutes later, at approximately 1:18 p.m., the aircraft malfunctioned and crashed into the school’s Haider Ali Building, striking the main gate and causing a massive fire.
The impact created a gaping hole in the structure, which housed classes for nursery to third-grade students.
The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Toukir Islam, was on his first solo mission when the jet became unresponsive and stalled. Despite instructions from the control tower to eject, the low altitude prevented a safe ejection.
Military sources reported that Toukir attempted to steer the aircraft toward an open area in Diabari to minimize casualties but was unable to avoid the school.
He was initially found alive and airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, but succumbed to his injuries.
The crash claimed the lives of mostly young students, with at least 50 others, including children and adults, hospitalized for severe burns at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.
Emergency response teams, including eight fire units from Uttara, Tongi, Pallabi, Kurmitola, Mirpur, and Purbachal, along with two Border Guard Bangladesh platoons, were deployed to extinguish the blaze and rescue survivors.
Witnesses described a scene of horror, with thick smoke and flames rising from the wreckage as ambulances rushed the injured to nearby hospitals.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, expressed “deep grief and sorrow” over the tragedy, calling it an “irreparable loss” for the Air Force, students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College.
He announced a national day of mourning on Tuesday, with flags to fly at half-staff, and pledged a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash, which remains unclear.
Some reports suggest a mechanical failure in the ageing F-7 BGI jet, a modernized variant of the Soviet-era MiG-21.
Rezaul Islam, a teacher at the school, recounted to BBC Bangla the terrifying moment the jet struck the building, while student Fahim Hossain, who witnessed the crash, described the explosion as feeling like an earthquake.
Social media was flooded with videos of the burning wreckage, though authorities have not verified their authenticity.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, instructed allied groups to assist in rescue efforts and provide relief to the wounded.
The F-7 BGI, equipped with advanced avionics and radar, is part of Bangladesh’s air fleet, acquired between 2011 and 2013.
The crash has raised renewed concerns about the safety of Chinese-made aircraft, with posts on X noting over 50 crashes involving F-7 jets in Bangladesh Air Force history.
This incident marks the deadliest aviation accident in Dhaka in recent decades, prompting calls for stricter safety measures.
Rescue operations continue as the nation mourns the tragic loss at Milestone School and College, a campus serving around 2,000 students from elementary to twelfth grade.
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