Apocalypse at school 

Highlights

• BAF jet crashes into school
• At least 20 dead
• More than 170 injured
• Plane crashes minutes after takeoff due to 'technical malfunction'
• Pilot bails out, but dies later in CMH
• One day state-mourning today

It was just like any other day for the students of Milestone School and College in the capital's Uttara. Some classes had already wrapped up their lessons; for others, it was the last class.

Those who concluded their day at school were in the field, some playing, some waiting for their parents to come and collect them.

On this fateful day, instead of going back to the safety of their homes, many students were brought to hospitals, some dead, others injured.

Between 1:10pm and 1:15pm, a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) fighter aircraft crashed into the college compound, bursting into flames, consequently spreading fire in one of the school buildings.

As of the time of filing this report, at least 20 people, mostly children, were killed and more than 170 people were injured in the deadly crash.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the F-7 BGI fighter jet crashed after it took off from BAF Base Bir Uttom AK Khandker at Kurmitola on a training flight. Soon after, the jet faced a technical malfunction and went down.

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.

Dozens of injured people were rushed to different nearby hospitals and to Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), and the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, where they are receiving treatment.

Those admitted to the Burn Institute include victims with burns ranging from 5% to 100%. Eight of them are in critical condition.

Eight injured were admitted at the Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Hospital, 70 at Burn Institute, three at DMCH, 17 at CMH, one at Kurmitola General Hospital, 11 at Lubana General Hospital and Cardiac Centre, 60 at Uttara Adhunik Hospital, and one at Uttara Crescent Hospital, according to an ISPR statement issued at 5:25pm yesterday.

Also, the statement said, there are two dead bodies at the Burn Institute, one at DMCH, 12 at CMH, two at Kurmitola General Hospital, two at Lubana General Hospital and Cardiac Centre, and one at Uttara Adhunik Hospital.

Rahik Mahmud, a first-year student of Milestone college section, told TBS, "At the spot where the jet crashed into a classroom, a huge fire was raging, with unbearable heat and smoke all around. Some school boys and girls had their body parts blow away. 

"Some of them, with severe burns, were screaming and trying to escape from the fire. A woman was lying on the ground with one part of her head gone. A boy, with burns all over his body and his burned skin coming off, was running for help. A body was charred beyond recognition."

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.

Fire Service DG Jahed Kamal said, "The total extent of the damage will be assessed and announced after the completion of rescue operations," he said.

Locals, students and the teachers of the institute witnessed the horror in shock, but jumped into the aid of the victims. 

"We transported some of the injured with burns onto rickshaws and vans. Their clothes were ripped apart, torn, and some even were walking towards rescue vehicles with burn injuries on their bodies," said Nuruzzaman Mridha, a teacher of the institute.

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 told TBS.

The building on which the aircraft crashed hosted classes for children from playgroup to grades 1-8 and a canteen, according to students.

Talking to The Business Standard, Sabbir Ahmed, a cleaner at a nearby Metro Rail station who witnessed the incident, said, "I saw two aircraft flying. One flew away, but the other looked like it was in trouble.

"It tried to turn to line up with the runway, but while turning at a low altitude, it hit a 10-12-storey building on the Milestone College campus and then crashed into the two-storey primary school building."

Pilot passes away

ISPR also confirmed that the aircraft's pilot, Flight Lieutenant Md Towkir Islam of the BAF, had succumbed to his injuries.

Towkir had managed to bail out when the plane went down. With critical injuries, he was taken to the CMH, where he passed away while undergoing treatment.

What ISPR says about the crash 

The aircraft crashed after experiencing a technical malfunction shortly after takeoff, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

"The aircraft had departed from the Bangladesh Air Force Base AK Khandaker in Dhaka at 1:06pm as part of a routine training exercise. Shortly after takeoff, the jet encountered a mechanical failure, the exact nature of which will be determined through a formal investigation," the ISPR said in a statement.

"To prevent a major disaster and minimise damage, the pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Md Towkir Islam, made every possible effort to steer the plane away from densely populated areas toward a sparsely populated zone. Unfortunately, the aircraft crashed into a two-storey building of Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Diabari area in an unexpected accident," adds the statement.

"The Bangladesh Air Force is deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident and is actively engaged in providing full medical care and overall support to the victims," it further said.

CA pledges probe

Assuring an investigation into the aircraft crash, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus urged all not to unnecessarily crowd the hospitals where the injured are being treated.

"We will definitely carry out an investigation. But an investigation will not bring them back. We have taken steps to ensure proper treatment," he said in a video message, expressing deep shock over the tragic incident.

The government has announced that it will cover all medical expenses for those injured in the tragic crash

International community mourns, offer support

Bangladesh's international friends mourned and expressed solidarity with Bangladesh after the plane crash.

Japan, the European Union (EU), the US, Switzerland, India and Pakistan have issued separate messages expressing solidarity with Bangladesh.