(Story Credit Reuters)
DHAKA, July 22. Twenty-five children died alongside a teacher and pilot when a Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka during a training mission, officials said Tuesday, marking one of the deadliest aviation disasters to strike an educational institution in the country’s history.
The F-7 BGI aircraft went down at 1:06 p.m. (0706 GMT) on Monday shortly after takeoff from Kurmitola airbase in the capital, with the military citing mechanical failure as the cause.
The crash left scorched buildings across the campus as 88 people were rushed to hospitals with burn injuries.
Visuals showed rescue workers scouring the charred buildings for debris as distressed family members surrounded the site.
Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, confirmed the death toll to reporters, emphasizing that the vast majority of victims were children attending classes at the time of impact.
The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship.
The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced variant in China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane’s Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013.
The incident comes as neighbour India is still grappling with the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad last month, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground.
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