(Image source from: AP)
On Monday, a training aircraft belonging to the Bangladesh Air Force went down into a school building in Dhaka, resulting in at least one fatality and around 100 injuries. The F-7 jet, manufactured in China, collided with the Milestone School and College located in the Uttara district of Dhaka. The incident occurred while classes were ongoing. Footage from television channels captured flames and thick black smoke rising from the crash site as rescue teams hurried to transport the injured to medical facilities. Images depicted students, some with severe burns and heavy bleeding, running in panic amidst the disorder. Since ambulances were not immediately available, witnesses reported that Army members carried injured students and used rickshaws and other vehicles to take them to hospitals. While the Bangladesh Air Force acknowledged that the crash took place, they did not provide information on what caused it or whether the pilot managed to eject.
Teachers and staff at the college were the first to initiate rescue operations before the army and fire service joined them. One teacher mentioned that the plane impacted the front of the three-story school building, trapping numerous students inside. The Daily Star indicated that more than 30 individuals were taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Others were also transported to local hospitals. Bangladesh's chief adviser Muhammad Yunus stated that the government would look into what caused the incident and would provide necessary support. “The loss faced by the Air Force, students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, along with others, due to this tragedy is beyond repair. This is a time of great grief for our country,” he expressed. This marks the second incident this year involving a Chinese-made F-7 aircraft. Last month, a fighter jet of the Myanmar Air Force, also an F-7, crashed in the Sagaing area, resulting in the pilot's death and raising concerns about the safety of defense equipment made in Beijing.
