At least 18 people, including a pilot, have been confirmed dead after a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school in the capital city of Dhaka on Monday afternoon.
The tragic incident also left 164 others injured.
The military said the F-7 BGI aircraft took off at 1:06 p.m. local time before crashing shortly after into the campus of Milestone School and College, located in the Uttara neighbourhood of Dhaka.
The jet reportedly burst into flames on impact.
At the time of the crash, students were taking exams or attending regular classes. Many of the injured were students, according to local media reports.
Eyewitnesses described a scene of chaos as emergency responders and bystanders rushed to help the wounded, using tricycle rickshaws and any available means to transport them to nearby hospitals.
Families of students gathered in panic at the school premises as the scale of the tragedy unfolded.
A student of the school, 16-year-old Rafiqa Taha, who was not on campus during the crash, told the Associated Press that Milestone School and College has a student population of about 2,000, ranging from elementary to senior secondary levels.
“I was terrified watching videos on TV,” she said. “My God! It’s my school.”
Authorities are yet to release the identities of the victims. The cause of the crash is still unknown, and investigations are ongoing.
This marks the deadliest aircraft accident in Dhaka in recent memory.
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