At least 20 people, including schoolchildren, were killed and 171 people were injured after a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) training aircraft burst into flames after crashing into the primary school building inside the Milestone College campus at Diabari in the capital’s Uttara on Monday.

The interim government has declared a one-day national mourning on Tuesday in response to the tragic crash of a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft into a school building in Uttara, Dhaka, which left 19 dead and 164 critically injured on Monday.

The crash took place shortly after 1pm on Monday when an F-7 BGI training jet of Bangladesh Air Force crashed into ‘Haider Hall’, a building within the Milestone School and College campus in Uttara. The impact sparked a massive fire in the building, which was occupied by many school students at the time.

According to witnesses, the aircraft crashed into the building just as students were coming after classes ended and the school day was over.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that the F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed after it took off from BAF Base Bir Uttom AK Khandker at 1:06pm. Soon after, the fighter jet faced a technical malfunction and went down. Firefighters reached the spot at around 1:22pm — four to five minutes after the plane crashed between 1:10pm and 1:15pm.

While briefing media at the crash site amid rescue operation on Monday, Fire Service Director General Brig Gen Md Jahed Kamal said that they have recovered 19 bodies from the school compound so far.

According to the Fire Service, nine firefighting units from Uttara, Tongi, Pallabi, Kurmitola, Mirpur, and Purbachal fire stations brought the fire under control at around 2:45pm, while six ambulances transported victims to the hospitals. The second car of the Dhaka Metrorail was kept reserved for carrying the victims to different hospitals.

Fire Service DG Jahed Kamal said, “The fire has been fully extinguished, and a crane has been brought in to remove the rear section of the aircraft from the wreckage. The total extent of the damage will be assessed and announced after the completion of rescue operations.”

The DG said the first floor of the building, in which the plane crashed, housed classrooms for third and fourth-grade students, while the second floor contained second and fifth-grade classrooms, the principal’s office, a meeting room, and a coaching centre.

The official said that although school had ended at the time of the crash, some students were still present near the teachers’ room, and it is believed a few parents may have been with them.

Witnesses said the plane crashed in front of a two-storey building of Milestone School, which is used for classes.

Mahim Hasan Siam, a class-twelve student and witness, said that the building is named ‘Project-2’ and contains a total of 16 classrooms and four teachers’ rooms across both floors.

Classes of primary-level students from class 1 to class 5 were held in this building. The plane crashed in front of the classrooms used by class 3 and class 4 students. Students also said that after regular school hours, students from class 6 to class 8 attended tuition classes in the building.

Injured pilot Flight Lieutenant Toukir Islam Sagar died at Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka, it said. In a press release issued on Monday, ISPR shared the hospital-wise list of casualties.

Dozens of injured people were rushed to different nearby hospitals and to Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (NIBPS), Kurmitola General Hospital, Uttara Adhunik Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh Kuwait Friendship Hospital, Uttara Womens Medical College Hospital and Monsur Ali Medical College Hospital, where they were receiving treatment. Those admitted to NIBPS include victims with burn injuries ranging from 5% to 100%.

Burn victims were rushed in rounds to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. According to ISPR, 70 patients were taken there for treatment. Physicians reported, many of them were in critical condition.

The deaths and injured were reported from Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Hospital, Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Kurmitola General Hospital, Uttara Crescent Hospital, Uttara Adhunik Hospital, and Lubna General Hospital and Cardiac Centre, Uttara.

A total of 16 rescue personnel, including 14 army members, a police officer, and a firefighter, were injured during rescue operations following the crash of a Bangladesh Air Force training fighter jet at Milestone College in Dhaka’s Diabari.

They are now receiving treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka, according to a notification of the Bangladesh Army. According to the notification, 14 people were brought dead to CMH, while nine injured civilians remain under medical care.

An emergency 24/7 cell has been opened at the Record Office of the Bangladesh Air Force to coordinate the sending of blood donors to various hospitals, according to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) notification. People are requested to contact via mobile/WhatsApp at 01769993558.

Soon after, personnel from the Bangladesh Army, Fire Service and Civil Defence, police, and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) rushed to the scene and started working jointly to rescue the victims and douse the flames.

Naimul Hasan Adit, a first-year arts student of Milestone College, saw the fighter jet first hit Building No 7, which houses classes of the college students. “Then it crashed into the primary school building, around 100-150 meters away from us.

“The pilot ejected from the plane with a parachute and got down while the primary school building caught fire,” he said. The building on which the aircraft crashed hosted classes for children from playgroup to grades 1-8 and a canteen, according to students.