A Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashes into a school in Dhaka and kills at least 20

DHAKA Bangladesh AP A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school in Dhaka the capital shortly after takeoff on Monday afternoon catching fire and killing the pilot and at least other people largest part of whom were students officers reported Another students were rescued with injuries from a smoldering two-story building personnel announced including several with burns who were whisked away in helicopters motorized rickshaws and the arms of firefighters and parents The Chinese-made F- BGI training aircraft experienced a technical malfunction moments after takeoff at p m local time and the pilot attempted to divert the plane to a less populated area before crashing into the campus of Milestone School and College according to a announcement from the military Students stated the school s buildings trembled violently followed by a big explosion that sent them running for safety A desperate scene soon unfolded at the crash site as panicked relatives searched for loved ones Screams filled the air at a nearby hospital The Milestone school is in Dhaka s Uttara neighborhood which is roughly kilometers miles drive from the A K Khandaker air force base The school is in a densely populated area near a metro station and numerous shops and homes The pilot Flight Lt Mohammed Toukir Islam made every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location the military commented adding that it would investigate the cause of the accident It is the deadliest plane crash in the Bangladeshi capital in latest memory In another F- training jet crashed outside Dhaka killing its pilot who had ejected after he discovered a technical issue The regime stated a national day of mourning on Tuesday with flags to fly at half-staff across the country At the crash site Monday afternoon a father sprinted with his daughter cradled in his arms A mother cried out having located her younger child but desperately searched for her older one Another father described his feeling of helplessness while waiting to learn the fate of his daughter The plane crashed on the building where my daughter was My wife called me but I was praying so I could not pick up Jewel who goes by one name reported at the scene When I came here I saw there was a huge fire There was a dead body of a child Luckily his daughter was safe he revealed but he saw a large number of other children suffering from burns Students also scrambled to see what had happened We fought with the crowd and the soldiers to get close to the crash site in our school declared Estiak Elahi Khan who is in the th grade What I saw I can t describe that that s terrible Doctors at Uttara Adhunik Hospital reported more than students numerous between the ages of and were transferred to a special hospital for burn casualties By Monday evening rescuers continued to scour the debris searching for bodies A crane was being used to remove debris Bangladesh s interim leader Muhammad Yunus also pledged an inspection and he expressed his deep sorrow over the heartbreaking accident He called it a moment of deep national grief Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed shock and sadness Our hearts go out to the bereaved families Modi stated in a post on X India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all accomplishable promotion and assistance Rafiqa Taha a participant who was not present at the time of the crash commented by phone that the school with a few students offers classes from elementary grades through high school I was terrified watching videos on TV the -year-old revealed My God It s my school Associated Press videographer Al-emrun Garjon contributed from Dhaka Source