At least 20 people including the pilot were killed and 171 injured after a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) FT-7 BGI fighter aircraft crashed into a building of Milestone School and College in the capital’s Uttara area, said a press release of the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) on Monday evening.
“Twenty people including Flight Lieutenant Toukir Islam have so far been killed and 171 others injured in the crash,” said the release.
The aircraft crash took place due to mechanical fault (the details of which will be informed after investigation) after taking off from the Bangladesh Air Force Base AK Khandaker in Kurmitola at 01:06 pm today (Monday) as part of a regular training, the ISPR said.
All the injured were quickly shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and nearby hospitals with the help of Air Force helicopters and ambulances.
The ISPR said the pilot made every effort to take the aircraft from a densely populated area to a sparsely populated area and to deal with the accident and avoid major damage.
But unfortunately, the aircraft crashed in an unexpected accident in a two-story building of Milestone School and College at Diabari in Uttara, Dhaka, it said.
Bangladesh Air Force is deeply shocked by the unfortunate accident and is actively providing all-round assistance including treatment to the injured, the release said.
A high-level investigation committee of the Air Force has already been formed to find out the cause of the accident, it added.
As the Air Chief is out of the country on an official visit, the Assistant Air Chief (Administration), senior Air Force officers and rescue teams are present at the accident site.
The Army Chief, Principal Staff Officer, Armed Forces Division and senior military and government officials were present.
Following the crash, the Army, Air Force, Police, RAB and Fire Service and Civil Defence have been continuing rescue operations at the accident site and are making every effort to resolve the situation.
Director General (DG) Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) Brigadier General Muhammad Jahed in a press briefing held at the accident site said that 19 were killed in the jet crash.
Three platoons BGB have been deployed at the place of occurrence to assist the law enforcement and rescue operations, according to a BGB press release.
An emergency hotline number 01949-043697 has been launched at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery following the jet crash.
One coach of the metro trains departing from Uttara has been kept reserved to transport the injured from the Milestone College.
Over 30 people have so far been admitted to National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said its director Md Nasiruddin.
The government has declared a one-day state mourning following the crash of Air Force aircraft at Milestone College in Dhaka’s Uttara.
The mourning day will be observed tomorrow (Tuesday). Following this, the national flag will be flown at half-mast at all government, semi-government, autonomous institutions, and educational establishments across the country.
Additionally, the flag will be lowered at all government and private buildings, as well as at Bangladeshi missions abroad.
Special prayers will be held in all religious places of worship throughout the country for the injured and deceased.
Chief Adviser Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus has expressed deep shock and sorrow over the casualties in a tragic Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI training aircraft crash on the Milestone School and College campus at Diabari in the capital.
“I express deep shock and sorrow over the casualties in the aircraft crash,” he said in a statement issued by the Chief Adviser's Press Wing in the afternoon.
The government has given emergency contact numbers for searching missing students following the aircraft crash at Milestone College in Dhaka’s Uttara.
The numbers are Military Rescue Brigade-01769024202, CMH Burn Unit-01769016019, CMH Emergency-01769013311, Milestone School Admin Officer-01814774132, its Vice Principal-01771111766, according to Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.
National Emergency Number 999 will connect the callers to the burn units from the Emergency Cell of Bangladesh Police.
Five advisers -- Adviser for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dr Asif Nazrul, Adviser for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Adviser for Public Works Adilur Rahman, Adviser for Religious Affairs Dr AFM Khalid Hossain, and Adviser for Disaster Management and Relief Faruk E Azam –- rushed to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery to enquire about the condition of the victims and injured of the aircraft crash of Bangladesh Air Force.
They also assured of providing all kinds of cooperation on behalf of the Chief Adviser.
Home Adviser Lieutenant General Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd.) and Religious Affairs Adviser Dr AFM Khalid Hossain expressed deep shock and sorrow at the causalities in the plane crash.
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