Bangladesh Air Force jet crashes into Dhaka school; 19 dead, dozens injured

Dhaka, July 21: A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school building in Dhaka’s Uttara area on Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens, according to reports published by the country's press.

The F-7 BGI training aircraft took off at 1:06 pm and crashed shortly afterward into the campus of Milestone School and College, the Defence Ministry confirmed in a statement.

"An F-7 BGI training aircraft took off at 1:06 pm today and crashed into the college campus soon after," the country's Defence Ministry said in a statement.

"Our team has recovered one body. The Air Force has rescued four people with injuries and taken them away," a Bangladesh news website, BDNews24, quoted Lima Khanam, Duty Officer at the Fire Service Central Control Room, as saying.

The identity of the deceased is yet to be confirmed. There was no information on the pilot.

The plane crashed with a big bang and immediately caught fire, a fire service official said.

According to police, firefighting units, ambulances, and air force helicopters rushed to the scene soon after the crash.

A teacher of the school said that dozens of ambulances were carrying the wounded to nearby hospitals.

"The plane fell on the gate and crashed nearby. Classes were in session when the plane crashed with students inside. The injured are being taken out one by one," Shah Bulbul, a Milestone School and College spokesman, was quoted as saying by the Bangladesh-based news website.

According to the Dhaka Tribune newspaper, over 50 people have been taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery following the crash.

Their identities were not immediately known, but most of them are students, it said.

This is a developing story and more details are awaited.

With inputs from PTI