At least 18 people were killed and many others were injured when a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed onto the compound of a school in Dhaka on Monday, officials said.
The Chinese-made F-7BGI aircraft crashed at the gate of the two-storey Milestone School and College in the north of the capital in the afternoon.
The military said the jet took off at 1:06 p.m. local time and crashed soon after, catching fire immediately. The cause was not immediately clear.
At the time of the crash, many children were present at the school, which teaches children from elementary to 12th grade.
Eighteen people were killed in the crash, said Sayedur Rahman, an assistant to the head of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus. Rahman spoke to reporters at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka, where many of the injured were taken.
He said more than 100 people were undergoing treatment at different hospitals.
The government announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday to pay respect to those died, said Asif Nazrul, a senior member of Yunus’ cabinet.
Khaleda Khatun, an official on duty at the Fire Service and Civil Defence control room, said that nine fire engines had been working to extinguish the fire at the accident site.
A witness named Pintu, who was at the scene to pick up his child from school, told reporters that he saw the aircraft descend rapidly before crashing with a loud bang.
“Soon after the bang, I saw a fireball erupt. I could see nothing but the flames at that moment, and I ran for shelter,” said Pintu to private broadcaster Jamuna TV. He later found his son unharmed at the school compound.
The cause of the crash is not yet known. The government said it would launch an investigation.
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