DHAKA: At least 19 people were killed and 164 injured as a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in the capital Dhaka on Monday after experiencing a technical problem shortly after take-off, a military spokesperson said.
The F-7 BGI jet took off at 1:06pm (0706 GMT) from the Bangladesh Air Force base in Kurmitola, Dhaka, as part of a routine training mission, but encountered a mechanical failure, said the spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury.
“The pilot … made a valiant attempt to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas. Despite his best efforts, the aircraft … crashed into a two-storey building belonging to Milestone School and College,” he said.
The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate its cause.
The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced variant in China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Janes 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 MiG-21.
According to the Daily Star, an emergency hotline (01949-043697) was launched at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery following the crash.
The Daily Star further reported that three platoons of the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) were deployed to Uttara to assist in law enforcement and rescue operations, according to the BGB headquarters.
It added that the government has declared a one-day state mourning day tomorrow following the crash. The national flag will be flown at half-mast at all government, semi-government, autonomous institutions and educational establishments, as well as at Bangladeshi missions abroad.
“Special prayers will be held in all religious places of worship throughout the country for the injured and deceased,” it said.
Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, said that “necessary measures” would be taken to investigate the cause of the accident and “ensure all kinds of assistance”.
“The loss suffered by the air force […] students, parents, teachers and staff, and others in this accident is irreparable,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his regret over the incident and said Pakistan stood in solidarity with Bangladesh.
Fire, despair at crash site
Videos of the aftermath of the crash showed a big fire near a lawn emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky, as crowds watched from a distance.
Firefighters sprayed water on the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure, footage filmed by Reuters showed.
“A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital,” said Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where some victims were taken.
Images from the scene also showed people screaming and crying as others tried to comfort them.
“When I was picking [up] my kids and went to the gate, I realised something came from behind … I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke,” said Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school.
The incident comes a little over a month after an Air India plane crashed on top of a medical college hostel in India’s Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, marking the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
