At least 19 people lost their lives and 164 others were injured when a Bangladeshi Air Force training jet crashed into a campus in Dhaka on Monday, following technical difficulties shortly after takeoff.
The F-7 BGI jet, which took off from Bangladesh Air Force Base in Kurumitra at 1:06 PM as part of a routine training mission, encountered mechanical issues, according to spokesman Lt. Colonel Sami Udo Doura Choudhry.
“The pilot tried really hard to steer the plane away from populated areas. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, it collided with a two-story building belonging to Milestone School and the University,” he stated.
The pilot was also among the deceased, and the military has initiated a committee to look into the incident.
The F-7 BGI is regarded as the most advanced model in the Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family. Bangladesh had finalized a deal for 16 such aircraft in 2011, with deliveries completed by 2013, according to Jane’s Information Group.
The Chengdu F-7 represents a licensed version of the Soviet MIG-21.
Footage from the scene depicted a large fire near the grass, with thick smoke billowing into the sky as crowds observed from a distance.
Firefighters worked to control the situation, damaging parts of the building and spraying water on the wreckage, which had punctured a significant hole in the structure.
“A third-year student died and patients aged 12, 14, and 40 were hospitalized,” reported Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn department at Dhaka Medical College, where some of the victims were treated.
Images from the aftermath showed distraught individuals while others attempted to console them.
A local resident recounted the moment, “When I picked up the child and headed to the upper gate, I sensed something happening behind me… I heard the explosion. Turning around, all I saw was fire and smoke.”
This crash comes just over a month after another aviation disaster, where an Indian plane crashed on a medical college hostel, resulting in 241 fatalities on board, along with 19 casualties on the ground, marking a decade’s worst aviation tragedy.
