A Chinese-manufactured F-7 BJI fighter jet crashed into Milestone School and College in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including the pilot, and injuring over 170 in the nation’s worst aviation disaster in decades.
The F-7 BGI is a Chinese-made, single-engine, multi-role fighter jet, an advanced variant of the Chengdu J-7, which in turn is a derivative of the Soviet MiG-21.
The majority of the victims were young students, struck just after classes ended. An AFP photographer witnessed fire and rescue teams evacuating injured students on stretchers, while army personnel worked to clear the wreckage.
According to a military statement, the crash was caused by a mechanical failure. Shafiur Rahman Shafi, an 18-year-old student, described hearing a massive explosion that felt like an earthquake.
Many of the victims were young students who had just been let out of class when a Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft slammed into the Milestone School and College.
A military statement said 20 people were killed, including the pilot, and 171 others injured when the jet crashed following a mechanical failure.
“There were two fighter planes… Suddenly, one of the two 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,” he told AFP.
The well-known private school offers education to children from kindergarten through to senior secondary. Most of the injured were aged between eight and 14, said Mohammad Maruf Islam, joint director of Dhaka’s National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute where many victims were treated.
Grieving relatives of the victims thronged the hospital, while dozens of volunteers lined up ready to donate blood.
Tofazzal Hossain, 30, broke down in tears on learning that his young cousin had been killed. “We frantically searched for my cousin in different hospitals,” Hossain told AFP. “He was an eighth grader at the school. Finally, we found his body.”
Deep Grief
The military said the pilot was on a routine training mission when the jet “reportedly encountered a mechanical failure”.
“The exact cause remains under investigation,” it said in a statement.
The pilot tried to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas but, “despite his best efforts”, crashed into the two-storey school building, the military added.
The interim government of Muhammad Yunus announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday.
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 crash was the worst aviation accident in the country in several decades.
The deadliest ever disaster happened in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of lives” in Dhaka. “India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance,” Modi wrote on X.
Via: AFP
