India offered medical assistance to Bangladesh after a fighter jet crashed into Dhaka`s Milestone School, killing 27. The Indian High Commission in Dhaka reached out to the Bangladesh government, offering support for critical medical treatment. Bangladesh is observing national mourning as investigations into the tragic incident continue.

Police stand guard beside crime scene barrier tape cordoning off the area as Bangladesh Air Force personnel inspect the crash site. Pic/PTI

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India on Tuesday offered medical assistance to victims of the recent fighter jet crash in the Diabari area of Bangladesh’s Dhaka, as the death toll in the Bangladesh fighter jet crash tragedy reached 27 on Tuesday.

The Indian High Commission in Dhaka highlighted that, “As a follow-up to the message from the Prime Minister of India, expressing condolence on the tragic Milestone School plane crash and offering all possible support & assistance, the Indian High Commission has today formally written to the Government of Bangladesh asking for sharing information on any critical medical support that may be needed to be arranged in India for those injured in the tragic incident,” as cited by news agency ANI. It also added that “the Indian High Commission will extend all necessary facilitation.”

In a clarification statement released by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), it was stated that the aircraft involved in the crash was a battle-ready fighter jet conducting a training mission.

Saidur Rahman, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, on Tuesday morning while addressing the crash, said that “the total number of deaths has risen to 27,” as per news agency ANI.

Bangladesh is observing national mourning on Tuesday in memory of the victims of the fighter aircraft crash.

Earlier during the mid-hours of Monday, a Bangladesh Air Force F-7 fighter jet crashed into the Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka.

As per reports, the jet was being piloted by Bangladeshi Air Force Flight Lieutenant Mohammad Towkir Islam Sagar, who also died in the crash.

Muhammad Yunus, who is currently the Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, also expressed his profound grief over the incident.

In his condolence message on social media platform X, Yunus asserted that the incident was an “irreparable” loss for the Bangladesh Air Force, as well as others affected.

Yunus also highlighted, “I express my deep grief and sorrow over the tragic incident of casualties caused by the crash of a Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI training aircraft at the Milestone School and College campus in the Diabari area of the capital today. 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. This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.”

The Chief Adviser expressed his deepest condolences to the family members of the deceased and further prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the crash.

The social media post on X also stated, “I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured and direct all concerned authorities, including hospitals, to address the situation with the utmost priority. The government will take necessary measures to investigate the cause of the accident and ensure all forms of assistance,” the post added.

(With ANI Inputs)

Dhaka [Bangladesh], July 22 (ANI): India has offered medical assistance to victims of the recent fighter jet crash in the Diabari area of Bangladesh’s Dhaka.

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Meanwhile, the death toll in the crash incident has risen to 27.

“As follow up to the message from the Prime Minister of India, expressing condolence on the tragic Milestone School plane crash and offering all possible support & assistance, Indian High Commission has today formally written to Government of Bangladesh asking for sharing information on any critical medical support that may be needed to be arranged in India for those injured in the tragic incident,” the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in a statement on Tuesday.

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“The Indian High Commission will extend all necessary facilitation,” it added.

In a clarification, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that the aircraft involved in the crash was a battle-ready fighter jet conducting a training mission.

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“The total number of deaths has risen to 27,” said Saidur Rahman, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, on Tuesday morning.

Bangladesh is observing national mourning today, in memory of the victims of the fighter aircraft crash.

A Bangladesh Air Force F-7 fighter jet crashed into the Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka on Monday afternoon.

The jet was being piloted by Bangladeshi Air Force Flight Lieutenant Mohammad Towkir Islam Sagar, who had also died in the crash, the Daily Star reported.

Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, also expressed his profound grief over the incident.

In his condolence message on X, Yunus described the incident as an “irreparable” loss for the Bangladesh Air Force, as well as others affected.

“I express my deep grief and sorrow over the tragic incident of casualties caused by the crash of a Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BJI training aircraft at the Milestone School and College campus in the Diabari area of the capital today. 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. This is a moment of profound pain for the nation,” Yunus stated in the post.

The Chief Adviser further prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the crash.

“I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured and direct all concerned authorities, including hospitals, to address the situation with the utmost priority. The government will take necessary measures to investigate the cause of the accident and ensure all forms of assistance,” the post added. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Pupils’ skin ‘peels off’ from major burns after horror Bangladesh plane crash into school kills 20

The Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into the Milestone College school campus on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including the pilot, and injuring 171

The Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into the Milestone College school campus on Monday

Students, teachers, and family members have been left shocked and grieving after a Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into a school campus, resulting in at least 20 deaths.

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Hasbya Rahman, a student at Milestone School and College in Uttara, Dhaka’s suburb, told the Bangladeshi news outlet The Business Standard (TBS) that she was in her classroom when the smoking aircraft suddenly hurtled toward the school.

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“We saw the plane engulfed in flames as it came toward us, then it crashed right into the building,” Rahman said. Fortunately, she escaped without injury.

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“The air was filled with smoke and screams,” she recalled, adding that teachers were desperately trying to evacuate young children, but many were trapped by the fire and smoke.

A spokesperson for Milestone School and College confirmed that the jet crashed near the school gates around 1:06 p.m. local time on Monday, July 21, according to the Times of India.

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Damage is seen after a Bangladesh Air Force F7 aircraft crashed into a building of Milestone College in Dhaka’s Uttara

The Bangladesh Armed Forces reported that at least 20 people, including the pilot, died after the Air Force training jet crashed due to a “mechanical fault.” Another 171 people were injured. Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school, told Reuters that he noticed something was wrong when he was walking toward the school’s outdoor gate.

“When I was picking up my kids and reached the gate, I saw something coming from behind,” he said. “I heard an explosion. When I looked back, there was only fire and smoke.”

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According to India Today, the plane hit the front of the three-story school building, trapping several students. The classrooms for children from playgroup through grades 1 to 5, as well as a canteen, were located in the area of impact, according to TBS.

CNN reported that Milestone School has students aged 4 to 18.

Footage from Bangladesh’s Channel 24 showed smoke rising from the building as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.

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20 people, including the plane’s pilot, have died

One family member told a local network that his sister, a grade four student, was injured in the crash. Another bystander described the victims arriving at the hospital with severe burns.

“We literally saw skin being torn off,” she said.

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Teachers and school staff initially helped evacuate students before fire and army rescue teams arrived. Witnesses reported that army personnel carried injured students to vehicles and rushed them to hospitals, as ambulances were not immediately available, according to TBS and India Today.

Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh’s interim government, vowed that “necessary measures” would be taken to investigate the crash and provide all needed assistance, the BBC reported.

“This is a moment of deep sorrow for the nation. I wish the injured a speedy recovery and have instructed all relevant authorities, including hospitals, to treat this situation with utmost priority,” he said in a social media statement.

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Bangladesh will observe a national day of mourning on Tuesday, July 22, with flags flown at half-mast.

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.”

Summary Most of 31 dead were children under age 12

Chinese F-7 BGI jet crashed into school campus

Students protest, demand justice and compensation

Parents inconsolable as rescue efforts continue at site

DHAKA, July 22 (Reuters) – National mourning turned to anger in Bangladesh on Tuesday as the death toll from a fighter jet crash into a school in Dhaka jumped to 31, sparking protests by hundreds of students against the interim government in a country gripped by instability.

At least 25 of the dead were children, many under the age of 12, who were about to return home on Monday when the Chinese-manufactured F-7 BGI Bangladesh Air Force jet ploughed into Milestone School and College and burst into flames, trapping pupils in the fire and building debris.

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Their fellow students and others from nearby schools protested as two government officials visited the crash site, demanding justice and shouting, “Why did our brothers die? We demand answers!”

Elsewhere in the capital, hundreds of protesting students, some of them waving sticks, broke through the main gate of the federal government secretariat, demanding the resignation of the education adviser, local TV footage showed. Police baton charged them and forced them out.

Rescue workers continued to scour the charred buildings for debris on Tuesday as distressed residents of the area looked on. Some parents were inconsolable.

“I took her to school yesterday morning like every day. I had no idea it would be the last time I would be seeing her,” said Abul Hossain, breaking down as he spoke about his nine-year-old daughter, Nusrat Jahan Anika, killed in the crash. She was buried on Monday night.

Rubina Akter said her son Raiyan Toufiq had a miraculous escape after his shirt caught fire when he was on a staircase.

“He sprinted to the ground floor and jumped on the grass to douse it,” she said. “He tore his shirt and vest inside which saved him from severe burns.”

The jet had taken off from a nearby air base on a routine training mission, the military said, adding the plane experienced a mechanical failure and the pilot was among those killed. Although he tried to divert the aircraft away from populated areas, the jet crashed into the campus.

On Tuesday, the military said in a statement that 31 people had died and 165 had been admitted to hospitals in the city. The health ministry later said 70 were still under treatment.

Item 1 of 6 Members of Bangladesh Airforce investigate on the site, after an air force training aircraft crashed into a building belong to Milestone School and College campus, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain [1/6] Members of Bangladesh Airforce investigate on the site, after an air force training aircraft crashed into a building belong to Milestone School and College campus, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship.

STUDENT DEMANDS

The protesting students called for those killed and injured to be named, for air force compensation to the families of those killed, the decommissioning of what they said were old and risky jets, and a changing of air force training procedures.

A statement from the press office of Muhammad Yunus, the country’s interim administrator, said that the government, the military, school and hospital authorities were working together to publish a list of victims.

It also said the air force will be instructed to not operate training aircraft in populated areas.

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 Chengdu F-7 is the licence-built version of the Soviet era MiG-21.

The incident comes as neighbour India is still grappling with the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad last month, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground.

Bangladesh has faced months of political uncertainty after then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country last August following weeks of deadly student protests.

The interim government of Nobel laureate Yunus has promised to hold elections next year amid mounting demands from political parties to advance them.

Reporting by Ruma Paul, Sam Jahan and Sudipto Ganguly; Writing by Tanvi Mehta and YP Rajesh; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Kate Mayberry, Saad Sayeed, Alexandra Hudson

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