Grief and anguish gripped the Bangladeshi capital on Monday after a military training jet crashed into a school compound in Dhaka, killing at least 19 people—most of them students—and injuring more than 150 others in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster in decades.
The Chinese-made F-7 BJI fighter jet, belonging to the Bangladesh Air Force, went down just moments after students had been dismissed from the Milestone School and College around 1:00 pm local time. The aircraft struck the junior playground, erupting into flames as students and staff scrambled to safety.
Sirens wailed as ambulances ferried burned and bloodied children to the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, where hospital officials described a scene of devastation. According to Dr. Mohammad Maruf Islam, joint director of the facility, at least 51 victims were admitted, most of them aged between eight and fourteen. Twenty are in critical condition.
“To see so many young lives affected like this is heartbreaking,” he said.
Tofazzal Hossain, 30, wept after locating the body of his young cousin, an eighth-grade student. “We searched everywhere, hospital after hospital, and finally found him… gone,” he said.
School staff also suffered injuries. Monsur Helal stood outside the ICU where his wife, Mahrin—a staff coordinator at the school—was on life support. “She was helping the children evacuate when the plane came down near her. She spoke to me briefly… now, she’s unresponsive,” he said.
Eyewitnesses described chaos and panic. “We saw two fighter planes flying overhead, and suddenly one nosedived into the school compound,” said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, an 18-year-old student. “The crash was like an earthquake. Flames burst out everywhere.”
Outside the hospital, inconsolable mothers wept and held one another, recounting stories of frantic searches and lost hopes. Inside, dozens of volunteers lined up to donate blood for the wounded.
In response, Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus declared a day of national mourning for Tuesday.
This incident marks the worst air crash in the country since 1984, when a passenger plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, claiming 49 lives.
The Bangladesh Air Force has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
