27 killed as Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashes into Dhaka school

“Bangladesh Air Force’s F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed in Uttara,” the military’s public relations department said, as quoted by Reuters.

Footage from the scene showed smoke rising near a lawn while a crowd watched from a distance. The plane had hit the side of a building, damaging its walls and iron grills. Firefighters were seen dousing the wreckage with water.

Firemen work at the site of a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft that crashed into a school campus shortly after takeoff in Dhaka. (AP/PTI)

19 bodies were recovered from the crash site, The Dhaka Tribune reported Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Muhammad Jahed Kamal as saying. 164 injuries have been reported so far, according to the same paper.

Dr Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, told Reuters, “A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital.”

Local teacher Masud Tarik described the moment the crash happened. “When I was picking up my kids and went to the gate, I realised something came from behind. I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke,” he said, speaking to Reuters.

The plane had hit the side of a building, damaging its walls and iron grills. (AP Photo)

Interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus extended his condolences and called the incident “a moment of deep sorrow for the nation.”

“I express my deep shock and sorrow over the tragic accident of the Bangladesh Air Force’s F-7BGI training aircraft crash in Ampas today. The loss to the Air Force and Milestone School and College students, parents, teachers and staff, and others, in this accident is irreparable,” he wrote on Facebook.
Yunus promised a full investigation into the crash. “Necessary measures will be taken to investigate the cause of the accident and ensure all kinds of assistance,” Yunus said, as quoted by Reuters.

He added, “The loss suffered by the Air Force, students, parents, teachers, and others in this accident is irreparable.”

A helicopter carrying injured victims of a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crash in Dhaka. (AP Photo)

Meanwhile, Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not present at the time of the crash, told the Associated Press by phone that the school, with some 2,000 students, offers classes from elementary to twelfth grade. “I was terrified watching videos on TV,” the 16-year-old said. “My God! It’s my school.”

The Chief Adviser’s Press Wing announced a one-day state mourning for Tuesday in light of the incident. The flag will also be flown at half-mast on all government and private establishments and Bangladesh missions abroad on the day, The Dhaka Tribune reported.

Firemen stand next to a swing as they work at the site. (AP Photo)

Members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) visited the site after the crash, while BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir met the injured at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

“We are deeply heartbroken by the tragic aircraft crash at Milestone College. Our heartfelt prayers are with the young souls shaken by this trauma. BNP urges all leaders, activists, professionals, and well-wishers to stand in solidarity with the affected. Let us come together, as a united nation, to face this tragedy with compassion and resolve,” the party wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also responded to the tragic plane crash in Dhaka by expressing his condolences on social media. “Deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of lives, many of them young students, in a tragic air crash in Dhaka,” PM Modi said in a post on X. “Our hearts go out to the bereaved families. We pray for the swift recovery of those injured.”

Deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of lives, many of them young students, in a tragic air crash in Dhaka. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families. We pray for the swift recovery of those injured. India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 21, 2025

He added that India stands by Bangladesh during this difficult time. “India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance,” he wrote.