Protests Erupt in Dhaka After Military Plane Crash Leaves Dozens Dead
- A routine training flight turned into catastrophe as a Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into Milestone School and College in Dhaka, killing at least 31 people, including 25 children
- Shock and grief swept across the nation as families gathered outside the devastated campus, demanding accountability and mourning the country’s deadliest air disaster in recent memory
- Hospitals in the capital were inundated as doctors raced to treat dozens of burn victims, most of them schoolchildren, following the tragic inferno
Hundreds of students and families gathered outside the charred remains of Milestone School and College in Dhaka on Tuesday, seeking justice and accountability after a Bangladesh Air Force jet slammed into the school the previous day, claiming the lives of at least 31 people, including 25 children.
The tragic incident occurred around 1:18 p.m. local time on Monday when an FT-7 training jet suffered a mechanical fault shortly after takeoff and ploughed into the two-storey school building.
Source: Getty Images
Eyewitnesses described a scene of horror as flames and smoke engulfed the classrooms where young students aged six to 13 were concluding their lessons.
Deadliest air incident claims young lives
According to the Armed Forces Public Relations Directorate (ISPR), 165 people were injured in what has become the country’s deadliest air incident in recent memory. Many victims suffered severe burns, overwhelming hospitals across Dhaka as families desperately awaited updates.
Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burns unit said the majority of the injured were children under the age of 12, with resident surgeon Harunur Rashid telling Reuters the facility was swamped with panicked relatives.
Witnesses recall horror as building became a “death trap”
Survivors and witnesses remained visibly traumatised as emergency crews retrieved wreckage on Tuesday.
“We saw scattered parts of different bodies, of children, guardians,” said English lecturer Mohammad Imran Hussein, who had been in another school building at the time of the crash. “The sound was really intolerable… I saw the tail of the plane. I saw a huge flame of fire.”
Sheik Rameen, 21, a student at the high school, recounted his desperate attempt to help injured children: “I saw a lot of children, I tried to save their lives. I saw a burnt child seek help but nobody came to help them.”
Jet diverted from populated areas before crash
Military authorities confirmed that Flight Lieutenant Towkir Islam, pilot of the FT-7 BGI, had attempted to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location. Despite this, the jet struck one of the school’s 20 buildings, which housed nearly 100 students.
The FT-7 BGI is the most advanced version of China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family. Bangladesh acquired 16 of the jets through a 2011 contract, with final delivery completed in 2013.
Government denies withholding casualty information
Despite mounting anger from students and residents, the government has denied allegations of suppressing information about the crash. Citing the Chief Adviser’s press wing, state media BSS News reported that identification of the deceased is ongoing.
Interim government leader Muhammad Yunus expressed deep grief, saying: “I have no words. I don’t know how to begin… None of us ever imagined it. It wasn’t within anyone’s expectations. But we had to suddenly accept this unbelievable reality.”
Yunus added: “What answer can we give to their parents? What can we possibly say to them? We can’t even answer ourselves.”
Source: Getty Images
16 people dead as plane crashes
Legit.ng earlier reported that a tragic air incident has happened in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. A fatal plane crash occurred on Monday, July 21, after a military airplane crashed into a school campus.
The crashed airplane belonged to the Bangladeshi Air Force, and so far, 16 people have been confirmed dead, according to reporting by the BBC.
The aircraft crashed into the campus of Milestone School and College in Dhaka's northern area of Uttara.
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Source: Legit.ng
