Training jet crashes into school in Bangladesh: 19 dead, 164 injured

21 July 2025 , 16:24

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Training jet crashes into school in Bangladesh: 19 dead, 164 injured

Another 164 people were injured when a training jet experienced a technical problem after takeoff, with the pilot reportedly among the dead

At least 19 people lost their lives and 164 were injured after a Bangladesh air force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in the capital, Dhaka, on Monday following a technical issue shortly after takeoff.

The F-7 BGI jet departed at 1:06 pm (08:06 BST) from the Bangladesh air force base in Kurmitola, Dhaka, for a routine training mission, but faced a mechanical failure, according to the military spokesperson Lt Col Sami Ud Dowla Chowdhury. 

“The pilot ... made a brave effort to steer the aircraft away from densely populated areas. Despite his best efforts, the aircraft ... crashed into a two-storey building belonging to Milestone school and college,” he said.

The pilot was among those who perished in the incident, the military stated, adding that a committee had been established to investigate the cause.

Videos of the crash aftermath showed a large fire near a lawn, releasing a thick plume of smoke into the sky, as crowds observed from a distance.

Firefighters sprayed water on the wreckage of the plane, which appeared to have collided with the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a large hole in the structure, footage filmed by Reuters revealed.

“A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14, and 40, were admitted to the hospital,” said Bidhan Sarker, the head of the burns unit at Dhaka medical college and hospital, where some of the victims were taken.

Images from the scene also showed people screaming and crying while others tried to comfort them.

“When I was picking up my kids and went to the gate, I realized something came from behind ... I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke,” said Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school.

The incident occurs a little over a month after an Air India plane crashed on top of a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad in neighboring India, killing 241 of the 242 people onboard and 19 on the ground, marking it as the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.

Elizabeth Baker

Technology & Business Editor