At least 27 people were killed after a Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials said on Tuesday, with 88 people, including children, being treated in hospital.

The F-7 BGI aircraft crashed soon after it took off at 1:06 pm (0706 GMT) yesterday from the airbase in Kurmitola 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.

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 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.

Another tragedy unfolded days after the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad which left over over 250 people dead last month. On Monday, July 21, a Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed into a school campus in the northern part of Dhaka’s Uttara. The incident took place in the evening, which left at least 20 dead and over 100 people were injured, raising alarming signs.

As per reports, 20 deaths have been confirmed, which are mostly children, over 170 people have suffered injuries as the training fighter jet crashed into a two-storey building of the Milestone School and College in Diabari. While it is being said to be one of the deadliest aviation disaster in decades, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BC) stood in solidarity of the accident.

BCB grieves loss of lives in tragic air crash; offers to stand in solidarity during BAN vs PAK 2 nd T20I

Taking to social media, the BCB in a post on X wrote, “The Bangladesh Cricket Board expresses profound sorrow over the tragic air crash at Milestone School & College in Dhaka. We stand in solidarity with the grieving families and all those affected. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to everyone impacted by this heartbreaking tragedy.”

Taskin Ahmed, one of the veterans of Bangladesh cricketers also expressed his grief on the incident. Furthermore, the cricket board has also dedicated the second T20I of the ongoing Pakistan T20I series to the victims of the tragedy.

“Standing in silence, united in sorrow. The Bangladesh Cricket Board observes National Mourning Day in remembrance and honour of the victims of the Milestone air crash tragedy,” they captioned a post on X.

A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school in Dhaka, the country’s capital, shortly after takeoff on Monday afternoon, killing the pilot and 24 other people, most of whom were students, officials said.

The jet crashed and caught fire, leaving another 171 people, mostly students, injured. They were rescued from the school’s smouldering two-story building, officials said, many with burns, taken away in helicopters, ambulances, motorised rickshaws and the arms of firefighters and parents.

Initially, reports after the crash said 20 people died. Five died of their injuries overnight. Doctors said late Monday that the condition of about two dozen injured remained critical.

The Chinese-made F-7 BGI training aircraft experienced a “technical malfunction” moments after take-off at 1.06pm (local time), and the pilot attempted to divert the plane to a less populated area before crashing into the campus of Milestone School and College, according to a statement from the military.

Many relatives waited overnight at a specialised burn hospital for bodies of their loved ones.

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Around midnight, Mohammed Abdur Rahim was looking for his cousin Afia Akter in a hospital. “We could not find my cousin. She is missing. Doctors here have asked us to go to other hospitals,” he told The Associated Press.

Students said the school’s buildings trembled violently, followed by a big explosion that sent them running for safety. A desperate scene soon unfolded at the crash site, as panicked relatives searched for loved ones. Screams filled the air at a nearby hospital.

The Milestone school is in Dhaka’s Uttara neighbourhood, which is roughly 11km drive from the AK Khandaker air force base. The school is in a densely populated area near a metro station and numerous shops and homes.

Firemen stand next to swing as they work at the site of a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft that crashed into a school campus shortly after takeoff in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Source: Associated Press)

The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Mohammed Toukir Islam, made “every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location”, the military said, adding that it would investigate the cause of the accident.

It is the deadliest plane crash in the Bangladeshi capital in recent memory. In 2008, another F-7 training jet crashed outside Dhaka, killing its pilot, who had ejected after he discovered a technical problem.

The government announced a national day of mourning on Tuesday, with flags to fly at half-staff across the country.

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Families mourn loved ones

Mosammat Sagorika, who scored four goals on Monday to defeat Nepal in an under 20 women’s South Asian soccer championship match, dedicated the country’s win to the victims of the jet crash.

“Many people have died, and many are injured. So, we all are sad,” the 17-year-old Sagorika told reporters.

At the crash site Monday afternoon, a father sprinted with his daughter cradled in his arms. A mother cried out, having found her younger child, but desperately searched for her older one.

Shahbul, father of a missing girl student, cries after a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft that crashed onto a school campus shortly after takeoff in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Source: Associated Press)

Another father described his feeling of helplessness while waiting to learn the fate of his daughter.

“The plane crashed on the building where my daughter was. My wife called me, but I was praying so I could not pick up,” Jewel, who goes by one name, said at the scene. “When I came here I saw there was a huge fire. There was a dead body of a child.”

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Luckily, his daughter was safe, he said, but he saw many other children suffering from burns.

Students also scrambled to see what had happened. “We fought with the crowd and the soldiers to get close to the crash site in our school,” said Estiak Elahi Khan, who is in the 11th grade. “What I saw I can’t describe that… that’s terrible.”

Doctors at Uttara Adhunik Hospital said more than 60 students, many between the ages of 12 and 16, were transferred to a special hospital for burn victims.

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By Monday evening, rescuers continued to scour the debris, searching for bodies. A crane was being used to remove debris.

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, also pledged an investigation, and he expressed his deep sorrow over the “heart-breaking accident”. He called it “a moment of deep national grief”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed shock and sadness. “Our hearts go out to the bereaved families,” Modi said in a post on X. “India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance.”

Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not present at the time of the crash, said by phone that the school, with some 2000 students, offers classes from elementary grades through high school.

“I was terrified watching videos on TV,” the 16-year-old said. “My God! It’s my school.”

Dhaka, July 22: A Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into a school building in Dhaka’s Uttara area on Monday. At least 20 people died and 171 were injured. Dhaka, July 22: A Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into a school building in Dhaka’s Uttara area on Monday. At least 20 people died and 171 were injured.

The jet was a China-made F-7 BGI aircraft. It crashed into the Milestone School and College while classes were going on.

Thick smoke and fire were seen at the crash site. Rescue teams rushed in and took the injured to six hospitals.

The Air Force said the plane took off at 1:06 PM local time (0706 GMT). Soon after, it lost control and crashed.

The jet hit the side of the building, damaging the walls and iron grills. A big hole was seen in the school’s structure. Firefighters sprayed water on the wreckage.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash.

The death toll from Monday’s Bangladesh Air Force jet crash on a school building in Dhaka rose to 27, including 25 children, officials said Tuesday, as rescue operations concluded and a probe was launched into the disaster.

At least 78 others — mostly schoolchildren, firefighters, and soldiers — remain hospitalized with severe burn injuries, some in critical condition, said Dr. Md Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the head of the interim government, during a media briefing.

Of the dead, 20 bodies have been identified and returned to their families, while six remain unidentified, Rahman added.

The other two fatalities were the pilot of the Chinese-made FT-7 BGI fighter jet, Mohammad Towkir Islam Sagar, and Meherin Chowdhury, a teacher at Milestone College who reportedly saved 20 students before succumbing to the fire.

The two-seater training jet encountered a “mechanical fault” shortly after taking off from Dhaka’s AK Khandaker airbase, according to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.

The pilot attempted to steer the aircraft away from the densely populated area, but it crashed into the two-story Milestone School and College building in the Diabari neighborhood around noon, about 10 minutes after takeoff.

Footage showed massive flames and black smoke pouring from the site.

Rakibul Islam, the uncle of an eighth grader at the school, told Anadolu his nephew narrowly escaped harm. “The aircraft crashed just about 10 minutes before the school was out for the primary section. Students have gone into trauma. My nephew barely speaks after escaping the fire,” he said.

The interim government declared Tuesday a national day of mourning. The Education Ministry suspended Tuesday’s higher secondary public exam in light of the tragedy.