Jet crashes into school, kills 20, injures 171

A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft Monday crashed into Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Uttara and burst into flames, leaving at least 20 dead and 171 wounded, many of them severely burnt. The pilot of the fighter jet died at a hospital while undergoing treatment.

Army and fire-service personnel rushed in for rescue after the F7 jet crashed at about 1.30pm, sending shockwaves all around, official and medical sources said.

Border guards were also later deployed on the devastated campus for aiding rescue operations and security reinforcement.

The government declared a one-day state mourning for today (Tuesday) over the tragedy.

President Muhammad Shahabuddin and Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus expressed "profound shock and sorrow" over the tragic incident.

Political parties and leaders also expressed shock at the mishap and condolences on the loss of life and sympathies for the bereaved families.

The aircraft hit the building located on the east side of the educational institution, situated near the metro-rail depot at Diabari. The building accommodated classes from three to eight.

"Emergency-response teams, including of Bangladesh Army and fire service, and other allied forces rushed to the spot and got down to conducting rescue operations," says a firsthand account of the scenes, adding that the air over there was thick with screams and wails.

Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) Director-General Brigadier- General Muhammad Jahed Kamal told the media that 19 dead bodies were recovered from the spot until the time of briefing.

The pilot of the plane, Flight Lieutenant Toukir Islam, hailed from Chapainawabganj, also perished in the mishap.

According FSCD statement, nine units of firemen from different fire stations around the capital, including Mirpur, Uttara and Kurmitola, took part in the firefighting and rescue drives.

At least 71 seriously injured people were receiving treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Others were admitted into several hospitals at Uttara and Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Of the injured, 38 were admitted to Dhaka Medical's Burn Unit, while others were admitted to hospitals in Uttara, including 23 in Bangladesh Medical, 11 in Shinshin Japan Hospital, 15 in Crescent Hospital, 20 in Lubana Hospital, one in Eastwest Hospital, and eight in Mansur Ali Hospital.

Dhaka Medical College and Hospital burn unit was being prepared for treatment for the injured.

An emergency hotline has been launched at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery following the air-force jet accident.

The government has opened a hotline of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. The number is 01949-043697.

A student of the college-visibly horrified by the baroque incident-says the aircraft "crashed inside the compound around 1:30pm".

An eyewitness, Saadman Rhuhsin, who works at Friendship and Cooperation Recruitment-an office located near the school-gave a vivid account of how the jet plane came crashing into the school building and went afire.

"The aircraft hit when some of the students were in classrooms and some playing in the field," he says.

Sources said 98 per cent of those injured and burnt are schoolchildren.

Members of the army and fire service moved students and guardians to a safe places.

People present at the spot said the army personnel were seen rescuing the injured students in their arms onto rickshaw vans and other vehicles.

A physics teacher of Milestone told the FE that he was standing near the 10-storey college building when the aircraft hit the campus.

He said shortly after 1:00pm, the plane crashed into the front side of the adjacent two-storey school building known as Hadar Ali, trapping several students.

The college teachers and staff rushed to rescue the students.

The teacher said he himself carried out at least one injured student of the building and also saw several other students and a female teacher with severe burn injuries.

"There was no warning. We even didn't understand what was happening-there were flames all around. Visibility dropped instantly. All I could see was fire, then smoke," says the shell-shocked teacher.

Another teacher, who survived the devastating incident, said students were lining up to leave the school just as the final bell rang when the flames erupted.

He was also injured in the fire.

"Both of my hands are burnt. I'm also experiencing breathing difficulties, and my face and ears are scorched."

He recalls that rescue efforts began within minutes, but the fire spread in mere seconds.

Fahim Hossain, an eleventh-grade student at Milestone College, witnessed the horrifying moment when the F7 dived into his campus. "The jet crashed on the ground floor of two-storied building where classes for the primary section were taking place," says Fahim.

Multiple ambulances were seen entering and exiting the campus as emergency personnel responded to the incident.

Outside the gates, worried parents, guardians, and siblings of students waited in growing distress, desperate for information.

The sudden crowd of onlookers added to the chaos, making it difficult for law enforcement to manage the situation. Members of the army and police were deployed to control the gathering and secure the area.

According to ISPR, the pilot, from the 35 squadron, 76 BAFA course, died while undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Combined Military Hospital (CMH).

As a sign of state mourning, the national flag will fly half-mast at all government, semi-government, autonomous institutions, and educational establishments across the country today.

Additionally, flags will be lowered at all government and private buildings, as well as at Bangladeshi missions abroad.

Special prayers will be offered in all religious places of worship throughout the country for the injured and deceased.

Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman was seen at the spot around 3:10pm.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leaders also visited the hospitals.

The ISPR statement also said as part of routine training exercises, after taking off from Bangladesh Air Force Base AK Khandaker in Kurmitola, the aircraft experienced a "technical malfunction".

"To mitigate the situation and avoid major casualties, the pilot made every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas towards a more sparsely inhabited location."

The military pres-wing release also reads: The Bangladesh Air Force is deeply saddened by this tragic incident and is actively engaged in providing full medical care and support to those affected. As the Chief of Air Staff is currently abroad on an official visit, the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Administration), senior officers of the Air Force, and rescue teams are present at the crash site.

A high-level investigation committee has already been formed by the Bangladesh Air Force to determine the cause of the accident.

Following the crash, several advisers of the interim government visited the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery to see the injured.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Shafiqur Rahman went to the hospital in the afternoon.

Interim government advisers present at the institute included Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Industry Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan and Special Assistant to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry (with the rank of state minister) Professor Md. Sayedur Rahman, along with Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep shock at the aircraft crash in the Bangladesh capital.

Incidentally, the airplane crash in Dhaka calls up into reminiscence a terrible passenger-plane crash on an Indian educational institution only recently.

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