At least 19 people, most of them schoolchildren, were killed on Monday in Bangladesh’s deadliest aviation disaster in decades when a military fighter jet crashed into a school campus in the capital, Dhaka.
Sirens echoed across the city as ambulances rushed charred and severely injured bodies to hospitals, including the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, where grief-stricken families gathered in shock and anguish.
The crash involved a Chinese-made F-7 BJI training aircraft belonging to the Bangladesh Air Force, which went down just after 1:00 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), moments after classes ended at the Milestone School and College in northwestern Dhaka. The well-known private institution serves students from kindergarten to senior secondary levels.
Eyewitnesses said the aircraft was flying in formation with another jet before it spiraled out of control and slammed into the school’s junior playground.
“We were on the senior students’ playground. Suddenly, one of the two planes crashed in the junior section,” said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, a student. “It created a boom — it felt like an earthquake. Then it caught fire.”
The impact killed dozens on the ground and left more than 150 injured, including students and school staff. At least 20 of the injured remain in critical condition, according to Dr. Mohammad Maruf Islam, joint director of the hospital.
Among the dead was an eighth-grade student whose family searched frantically for him.
“He was an eighth grader. Finally, we found his body,” said his cousin, Tofazzal Hossain, 30, sobbing outside the hospital. “We searched so many hospitals before coming here.”
Others were fighting for survival. Monsur Helal, 46, stood helplessly by as his wife, Mahrin — a school coordinator — lay unconscious on life support after being struck while evacuating children.
“She was helping the children out of the classroom when the plane suddenly crashed near her,” he said. “She was able to speak to me briefly, but now she is unresponsive.”
In the hospital corridors, scenes of heartbreak unfolded. Mothers wept, clutching photographs of their children. Volunteers lined up to donate blood, offering any support they could in the wake of the disaster.
The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, declared a day of national mourning on Tuesday to honor the victims. Flags will fly at half-mast and prayers will be held across the country.
The accident marks the worst aviation tragedy in Bangladesh since 1984, when a commercial flight from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 people on board.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, though early reports suggest a technical failure. The Bangladesh Air Force has yet to release an official statement.
As families bury their loved ones, the country grapples with the immense loss — a tragic reminder of how lives can be shattered in a single, fiery instant.
